Sharon Van Etten’s music is imbued with the kind of intensity usually reserved for natural disasters. Her voice is a thunderous force to be reckoned with, as are her words. The potent combination has even garnered her comparisons to Cat Power and PJ Harvey. The singer-songwriter’s latest album “Are We There” is her most personal yet, recalling details of a difficult relationship that constantly teetered on the verge of collapse. It’s no wonder she describes the process of writing it “a form of therapy.”
“I hit record and sang stream of conscious for ten, twenty minutes -however long it takes for me to feel better,” says Van Etten. “It’s a release and most of that stuff will never see the light of day because it’s too raw and super personal.”
But when lyrics as dark and unflinching as these make the cut: “Break my legs so I won’t walk to you/ Cut my tongue so I can’t talk to you/ Burn my skin so I can’t feel you/ Stab my eyes so I can’t see” it’s hard to imagine what’s she’s withholding.
Given the hyper-emotional nature of her songs, fans and even family sometimes worry about her well-being. “My mom gets worried about me when she hears songs like ‘Your Love is Killing Me.’ She was like ‘I thought you were doing okay’ but I’m fine. I wouldn’t be fine if I couldn’t write. I compartmentalize it. I move on and I’m better for it.”
And while watching Sharon Van Etten perform live you can tell she’s more than fine. On stage she’s full of witty banter. Between songs of heartbreak and woe, she cracks jokes with her bandmates. It’s a jarring juxtaposition to be sure. I’m relieved to find out she’s just like her on-stage self in real life too. Over the phone, Van Etten sounds lighthearted, nearly relaxed. She even permits me a moment of fangirl gushing, as I discuss how her last album, 2012’s “Tramp,” helped me through some pretty major life transitions. The details I provide are almost as raw and non-sequitur as her lyrics. When I apologize for digressing, she chuckles and tells me to “babble on!” Though I imagine she must hear these types of anecdotes all the time. In many ways her music has created an emotional dialogue with her fans, the kind that often manifests itself through tear stains on pillows.
But as we steer the conversation back to Van Etten’s current work, she remains remarkably at ease for someone enduring the rigors of a touring lifestyle. At the moment she’s in the van making the trek from Nashville to Denver. A daunting cross-country leap for most, Van Etten sees it as just another day on the road.
“I feel a responsibility to go out on the road. I think a big part of it is about connecting and performing and meeting the people that care about. It’s hard to be gone nine months out of the year but it’s also I’m responsible for employing five other people we all take really good care of each other. I think thats very rare for this many people in a car to connect the way we’ve connected. it’s very nurturing but it’s very tough. It’s rough but it’s fun.”
It’s no surprise then that distance, both literal and figurative, is a major theme on “Are We There.” Van Etten describes it as purposely open-ended question, one she likes to asks herself not only about her geographic whereabouts but the larger state of her life. Plus it ties in really nicely with the cover art, a black and white photograph of a girl embarking on life on the road.
[blockquote author=”—Sharon van Etten”]”I think listening to what the core of the song is, without burying it is pretty important. And to respect the practice of restraint. But sometimes the song wants to be this big thing, and you let it be a beast, too.”[/blockquote]
In regards to the state of her music Van Etten’s more confident than ever, as “Are We There” marks her first attempt at self-production. “It was important of me to feel in control of an album for a change because every other album someone’s held my hand and had their own interpretations of my songs, which I really appreciate and I grew a lot from that experience and I just want feel and know for sure that its everything that I wanted and a sound that I created not because my older brother was looking out for me.”
The sounds Van Etten managed to create perfectly compliment the heartbreak of her words. Organ drones, tinkling pianos, drum machine clicks and layers of haunting harmonies culminate in a singular vision, one that could only be her own. There’s a greater level of both intensity and intimacy that come across with her newfound musical ownership. Volatility and vulnerability are present in equal measures. According to Van Etten, it took careful discernment to strike the right balance.
“I think listening to what the core of the song is, without burying it is pretty important. And to respect the practice of restraint. But sometimes the song wants to be this big thing and you let it be a beast, too.”
While listening to “Are We There” it’s hard to believe such a gorgeous, confident album is the result of self-doubt and second-guessing. “I think I ended up walking away from the last album a little insecure about why people latched on to it,” says Van Etten. “I was afraid it was because of the star-studded cast. i just wanted to make sure it was about my songs.”
Members of The National, Wye Oak and Beirut are among the many high-profile artists Van Etten has collaborated with on past records. She evened secured a coveted spot opening for Nick Cave on his last North American tour. As he’s a major inspiration, Van Etten couldn’t turn the gig down even if it meant additional months away from home and her boyfriend at the time. It was also during that tumultuous time that Van Etten got to see a very different side of the venerated Australian rocker.
“He looked out for us like we were his daughters, like watching how much we were drinking checking to see if we were smoking. He was a total sweetheart and still a badass, but I like that I got to see that side of him.”
While speaking with Sharon, I think similar thoughts about the duality of her personality. It’s nice to hear the woman who sings with such aching vulnerability speak so joyfully. That dichotomy also reminds me of one of “Are We There’s” the more humorous lines “I washed your dishes/ But I shit in your bathroom.”
“I thought it’d be funny to have something a little lighthearted,” Van Etten says of that lyric. “And remind people I’m okay and they’re okay, too.”