Are We There
Even though many of the songs on *Are We There* muse on the pain of difficult relationships (plainly evident in the titles of tunes like “Your Love Is Killing Me” and “I Love You But I’m Lost”), Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten sounds strikingly confident on the follow-up to her stellar 2012 album, *Tramp*. Whether she’s leading a dusky, after-hours synth-rock dirge (“Break Me”) or mournful piano ballad (the sublime “I Know”), Van Etten is brilliantly self-possessed. Alternating between a chilling whisper and throaty wail, the songwriter\'s forceful yearning—for sleep, for patience, for a romantic silver lining—unifies much of *Are We There*. But in such capable hands, suffering has rarely sounded so good.
Sharon Van Etten writes from a place of free-flowing honesty and vulnerability to create a bond with the listener that few contemporary musicians can match. 'Are We There' is a self-produced album of exceptional intimacy, sublime generosity, and immense breadth.
Are We There may be Sharon Van Etten's most present-tense album to date, her most immediate and urgent—the peak of a steady upward trajectory. Her songs emphasize the moment, both in the quality of her performance and in the rawness of her lyrics.
Are We There, the new album from Sharon Van Etten, is best appreciated in bits and pieces. To listen to the whole thing is to drown in its relentless focus on a world of sorrow, misery, and punishment. Even “Every Time The Sun Comes Up,” the album’s final track and Van Etten’s version of a singalong good-time song, is…
The Brooklynite singer songwriter’s latest is her most polished – and best – record yet.
In the last song on her new album, Sharon Van Etten sings, “People say I’m a one-hit wonder, but what happens when I have…
Brooklyn singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten's transfixing voice and often heart-wrenching songs come through in an odd mixture of pain and flourishing inspiration on the best moments of her fourth album, Are We There.
Anguish anchors Sharon Van Etten's music; it's a focal point that has made for a ravishing core on her past three albums, and it transforms her fourth outing, too.
On Sharon Van Etten's latest, we find the 33-year old Brooklynite grappling even further with the complexities and rewards of love.
<p>Are We There sees Van Etten leaving Tramp's seething indie rock for singer-songwriter terrain, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong></p>
The subtle surprises throughout Are We There indicate Van Etten’s ability to risk sentimentality without succumbing to it.
Review of Sharon Van Etten's new album Are We there, the album comes out on May 27th via Jagjaguwar. Sharon Van Etten plays May 25th in Brusells, Belgium
Sharon Van Etten's recollections of an abusive relationship take your breath away with their shocking intimacy, but the music itself isn't always as impactful, writes <strong>Tim Jonze</strong>
Self-produced fourth album is American songwriter's opus. New music review by Lisa-Marie Ferla