![]() She understands the burden such attachment puts on her son, but she refuses to apologize for it, almost in cruel denial: “ I need my job/ Please don’t hold that against me/ You are my life/ Ooh don’t that sting?.” “I’ll Try” is a bit more encouraging, a triumphant ’80s synth rock anthem. “Home to Me” follows, a swirling dirge of strings and digital effects on which Van Etten desperately clings to her maturing child as he gains independence and threatens the death of her motherhood. Whereas the synths on Remind Me Tomorrow were used for melody and flavor, they’re used here for atmosphere to entrancing effect. Booming drums and swelling horns join Van Etten’s crooning, building to a dramatic apex elevated by Van Etten’s tearful but powerful falsetto. A brooding bass tone hints at what’s to come, though. Van Etten laments the loss of connection with a loved one, singing “ It’s been a while since I held you close/ Been a while since we’ve touched” over a tenderly picked acoustic guitar. Opener “Darkness Fades” is one of the record’s strongest examples of this scale. Drums boom and crash, electric guitars shred and the New Jersey born singer overpowers all of it as she mourns endings of all sorts – motherhood, relationships, war and peace. The synths, mimicking orchestras of strings and horns, are pushed to their most epic limits. Now, on her latest album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, Van Etten moves out of the studio and into the stadium. The acoustic balladeer evolved into a thrilling electro-pop artist, all while retaining her signature songwriting. She moved out of the bedroom and studio recording space and into the control room, where she filled out her sound with propulsive synths and droning electronics. On 2019’s Remind Me Tomorrow, though, Van Etten’s strategy to achieve such vastness shifted. Her percussive strumming, heart-wrenching lyrics and resonantly flawed vocals are enough to fill vast spaces in your mind. Sharon Van Etten’s music has always been expansive, even on her early records when it was just her, a guitar and maybe a simple drumbeat.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |