Sharon Van Etten

Sharon Van Etten came to Brooklyn via Jersey via Tennessee via Jersey.
Along the way, she sang in choirs, rejected her school’s music
program, worked at an all-ages venue, trained as a sommelier, and got
a full time job at a record label. She also had some bad experiences
in relationships. Okay, more than some.

Her second album, epic, will be released on Ba Da Bing Records this
Fall. In epic, Sharon lays a romantic melancholy lining over the
gravel and dirt of heartbreak, without one honest thought or feeling
being spared. She sings of betrayal, obsession, egotism and all the
other emotions we hate in others and recognize in ourselves. Yet, Van
Etten’s grounded and clenched vocals convey the sense of hope – the
notion that beauty can come out of the worst of circumstances. epic is
indeed that beauty.

Recorded at Minor Street Studios in Philadelphia with Brian McTear,
Sharon's guitar and singing are accompanied by drums, piano, lap
steel, and a trio of backing vocalists: Meg Baird (Espers), Cat
Martino and Jessica Larrabee (She Keeps Bees). The result is a fully
realized album that astounds as it elucidates, disturbs as it soothes.
The final track, “Love More,” has already been covered live in a
collaborative effort between Sharon fans Bon Iver and The National.

Since her last album, Sharon Van Etten has sung on The Antlers’
Hospice and performed with them at Radio City Music Hall, sung improv
on the Mike Reed Trio’s upcoming album, recorded backup vocals for
Swedish popstar Anna Ternheim, appeared on the compilation with the
recent issue of Esopus, collaborated with Megafaun (check YouTube!),
will be on a soundtrack for the film The Builder along with Bon Iver
and Phosphorescent, and has a seven-inch coming out this summer on
Polyvinyl. After years of playing repeatedly around the New York
scene, Van Etten is preparing for a series of tours that will take her
through Europe and the United States. A full band will be realizing
epic live.