Are We There [LP]

by Sharon Van Etten

Overview

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. The album, produced by Van Etten herself with some help from New York-based producer Stewart Lerman (Elvis Costello, Sophie B. Hawkins), follows her 2012 outing Tramp and trades up on some of the crushed indie templates of that album for new stylistic territory. From her first hushed demo-like recordings, Van Etten's songs have more often than not found their lyrical core stemming from painful relationships and hard times, culminating in Tramp's tales of homelessness, uncertainty, and desperation. Are We There's 11 selections also mine her harrowed heart for inspiration, be it the slow-burning portrait of a toxic love/hate romance in "Your Love Is Killing Me" or the obsessed fixation on an absent lover in "Break Me." While there's still a fair amount of heartbreak and pain in the subject matter of the songs, the folky strums and indie rock clatter of Tramp and earlier records have been expanded upon with more inventive musical approaches, leaving the album feeling much brighter, even in its darkest moments. "Taking Chances" is guided by an unexpectedly slinking bassline and minimal drum machine clicks, Van Etten's voice melting like honey over their laid-back foundations before introducing rawkus guitars on the chorus. Similar instrumentation shows up on "Our Love," a steady drum machine and lonely organ drone setting the stage for the brilliantly arranged multi-tracked harmonies and an indie take on the sophisticated tones of '80s quiet storm R&B. Even when tending toward more familiar rock sounds, the arrangements on Are We There are more considered, colorful, and ornate than ever before. Where previous albums felt a little too anchored to Van Etten's samey guitar changes, here tracks like "Tarifa" explode with sure-footed horn sections, nostalgic Hammond organ, and spirals of anthemic vocal harmonies. Quieter songs like "I Know" and "I Love You But I'm Lost" are driven by piano, leaving lots of space for the vocals to soar, while the cinematic textures and haunted guitar twang of "You Know Me Well" could almost draw comparisons to Lana Del Rey in her more Twin Peaks moments. The more inventive arrangements and advances in songwriting are an undeniable step forward for Van Etten. While still immersed in songs of emotional ravagement and betrayal, the confidence of her performances and spectrum of sounds represented here suggest a complete graduation from troubled, uncertain roots into a place where she can deliver her songs with a powerful, borderless command. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	05/27/2014
Label:	Jagjaguwar
UPC:	0656605225517
Rank:	38167

Tracks

1. Afraid of Nothing
2. Taking Chances
3. Your Love Is Killing Me
4. Our Love
5. Tarifa
6. I Love You But I'm Lost
7. You Know Me Well
8. Break Me
9. Nothing Will Change
10. I Know
11. Every Time the Sun Comes Up

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sharon Van Etten   Primary Artist,Bass,Juno,Drums,Organ,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Clapping,Omnichord,Handclapping
Zeke Hutchins   Drums,Vocals,Clapping,Percussion,Handclapping
David Hartley   Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Clapping,Handclapping,Synthesizer Bass,Guitar (Baritone)
Little Isidore   Vocals
Jacob Morris   Organ,Piano,Wurlitzer
Peter Broderick   Strings
Stewart Lerman   Organ,Piano,Machines
Jonathan Meiburg   Organ,Guitar,Wurlitzer,Organ (Hammond)
Mary Lattimore   Harp
Marisa Anderson   Guitar
Jana Hunter   Vocals
Stuart Bogie   Woodwind
Heather Woods Broderick   Vocals,Strings,Wurlitzer
Doug Keith   Guitar
Adam Granduciel   Guitar,Wurlitzer
Mickey Free   Percussion
Mackenzie Scott   Vocals
Doug Keigh   Guitar

Technical Credits

Richard Swift   Mixing
Stewart Lerman   Mixing,Producer
Martine Franck   Photography
James Frazee   Engineer
Sharon Van Etten   Producer
Mickey Free   Beats