SHARON VAN ETTEN
We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
(Jagjaguwar)
Sharon Van Etten is one of the best songwriters working today, and she’s also a fierce proponent of the old-school album—no skipping around, just listening straight through in the order she intended. Nowhere is that more apparent than on her sixth record, which Van Etten meticulously tracked and released without any advance singles. It’s not exactly a concept album, but all 10 songs taken together present a gorgeous meditation on love, loss, motherhood, and the grief of surviving a pandemic that’s claimed so many lives. It’s not all darkness, though; “Mistakes” is a danceable tune about the cathartic joy of fucking up, complete with a Seinfeld reference.
This article originally appeared in BUST’s Summer 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!
