by Sharon Van Etten
Sharon Van Etten returns for her fifth album, Remind Me Tomorrow - a reflection on childhood and the passing of time through her melancholic lens.
This time round the guitar is replaced with droning synth that land things closer to her heavy heart. And her seasoned confidence is given plenty of air in the stripped-back compositions.
The photo of a child’s upturned bedroom on the cover a cue to dispose of any preconceptions of neatness or niceties. Van Etten is a new mum, with wide-open eyes.
The mood is still dark, and things get disheveled at times (like the cover), such as on ‘No One’s Easy to Love’, but emotions can be complicated things under the microscope.
Freudian tendencies aside, If it sounds psychoanalytical it might be - Van Etten wrote the album while studying for a psych degree in New York. Here, she changes roles between therapist and patient, looking back at her younger self. But it’s also forward facing too - Remind me Tomorrow, she requests, a time when things might make more sense.
The nostalgia is bittersweet. From ‘Comeback Kid’, “Let me look at you then look away. Don’t look back. Watch me run away.” ‘Seventeen’ is a raw teenage rhomp about expectation. “I used to feel free. It wasn’t just a dream”.
With fame comes the fortune of working with the best and hot producer John Congleton (ST Vincent, among others) adds balance and poise. Just when things verge on the edge of despair, a melody appears out of nowhere to loosen the noose.
There’s also a steady evenness to proceedings, which helps create a lingering mood and sophistication - today, tomorrow or otherwise.
By Richard Mcleish
Remind Me Tomorrow is available on Jagjaguwar from good music sources.
Sharon Van Etten will play Hamer Hall ($55-$79 +bf) with support from Batts on June 11, 2019.
THIS WEEK'S TOP TRACKS
Snarky Puppy - 'Bad Kids to the Back'
Gonzo - 'Put The Money'
Kate Bush - 'Rocket Man'
Synthetics - 'Nowhere To Go'
Nubiyan Twist - 'Sugar Cane feat. Nubiya Brandon'
Luluc - 'Sculptor'
Robert Forster - 'Inferno (Brisbane in Summer)'
Wu Cloud - 'Muqa's Dream'
Weyes Blood - 'Everyday'
This week's Top 10:
