Review | Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
It really doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life or where you’re at in your current relationships, in love or friendship, but Sharon Van Etten’s latest, Tramp, is likely to be the perfect dose of music therapy. Best taken in the early morning, or late at night. Volume all the way up.
Produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner and featuring guest appearances from Dessner and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak, Tramp is exactly the progression you want to see from an artist. It’s bigger and more epic. It’s everything that Sharon Van Etten does best: strong songwriting with an underlying simplicity, paired with raw and emotional vocals and solid acoustics.
In a recent interview with NPR, Van Etten said the goal of this album was to be both minimal and epic. I can’t imagine Van Etten ever having a problem with holding on to her minimalist sound. But this album is certainly more epic. Actually, it’s more epic than ‘Epic.’ It’s hard to miss the drones that carry though every song. Guitars, drums, harmonium and violins, they’re layered on top of each other through each tune. And Sharon Van Etten gets angry.
The first single, Serpents, is an excellent example of Sharon’s growth. Van Etten’s voice carries the honesty and severity of her words. “You enjoy sucking on dreams,” is one of the most angry, yet heartfelt lines of the entire album. And you can tell Van Etten means it. The darkness and rawness in Tramp is right there in Van Etten’s voice and the sound the builds around it.
But the entire album surely isn’t all anger. And in fact, Van Etten seems to cover all angles of hurt and recovery. In We Are Fine, it’s just a bit of guitar and piano and Van Etten’s voice, “Tell me not to trip or lose sight. You are walking in my dotted line. Take my hand and help me not to shake. Say I’m alright.” And regardless of whether the sentiment in any given song is anger, sadness or forgiveness, everything about this album speaks of moving forward.
Tramp truly is the best of Sharon Van Etten’s best. She’ll be touring in support of her new album, hitting almost every major U.S. city and dropping through the Paradise on 2/23. Check out the rest of the dates here, and definitely grab a copy of the album today.
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