Sharon Van Etten

Tramp

Reviews Pop & Rock Jan 30 2012

By Nereida FernandesThe sheer number of indie A-listers who've collaborated with Sharon Van Etten on her third studio release is certainly hipster-approved. Tramp was produced by the National's Aaron Dessner in his garage studio; the Walkmen's Matt Barrick lends his signature zest to the record; and Beirut's Zach Condon, along with and Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak), offers vocal support. Rather than being a collection of weaker songs framing Van Etten's moments of exquisite brilliance, as was the case on Epic, Tramp is by comparison, a cohesively solid record with well-dispersed strengths throughout. Showing great artistic development and courage, Van Etten fleshes out her sound with strings, horns and keys while calling for more noise with reverb effects. It's likely going to satisfy fans that anticipated such progress, as well as any who may have been on the fence. As for those searching for another dose of the devastatingly beautiful, in the manner of Epic's jaw-dropping "Love More," Van Etten gives us a few tracks to cling to. Their chilling effect may require more listens, but "Ask," "Leonard" and "Magic Chords" do eventually seep into the soul and satiate, even if they're just shy of epic.

Did you plan on a music career?
I knew I wanted to do something in music, but I wasn't sure how or what. I was doing a lot of musicals and choir in school. Then I enrolled in recording school for a little bit and that wasn't my thing either. I was trying to go the responsible route; I wanted to get some kind of job in the music biz and then do my thing on the side.

Speaking of school choir, what has been your vocal training?
In both junior high and high school, I was into a classical style of choir, like madrigals and a cappella, as well as gospel, but I never latched on to reading music. If I focus, I can read notes, but if I was looking at sheet music, I couldn't sing it unless I sat at a piano and figured it out. I can hear harmonies naturally by ear, but I couldn't tell you what the notes are.

Were you self-taught on guitar?
Mostly. My older brother played guitar and he wrote down a bunch a chords for me to learn. When I was 16, one of my choir teachers had a free period at the same time I had one and I would ask him for tricks on how to guitar pick and he wrote down different patterns as exercises for me to do. But I was just messing around; I wasn't writing songs or anything.

How do you chisel out a song? What's your process?
I hear the melody first in my head. Usually I start playing on the guitar just for fun; I like trying different chord progressions and mixing them up, kind of like throwing the dice and then hearing possible melodies in my head. I'll record that idea so I won't forget it, but it usually seeps into my subconscious and later when I want to write lyrics, I try to make the words and melody line up with the time. It brings itself together when the phrase in my head matches up rhythmically with the melody I had.

I've read that you feel the need to edit your writing. In what way do you do that and for what purpose?
I do stream-of-consciousness writing; it's one of my favourite methods. Whenever I'm going through something intense emotionally, I sing and play guitar. But I'll record it even if I don't know what I'm singing; I'm just letting go because it's not for anything yet. Then I'll sit on it and when I'm not feeling inspired and I'm not hearing melodies, I'll go back to these old ideas I recorded for the heck of it. I will listen to that stream-of-conscious of whatever it was I was going through at the time. Sometimes it's way too personal for me to turn into a song; I felt better after singing it, but I feel it's selfish to share something that's too personal where people can't really apply it to their lives. When I'm able to edit a song like that so that it's general enough that others can relate to it that's when I know it has the potential to be recorded properly and put on a record.

What draws people to your songs is the fact that you express so much emotion. Which track would you say is your most vulnerable on Tramp?
I think they're all honest, but I'd say "Give Out" was one of the most vulnerable. It's about admitting and allowing myself to get well again, taking a chance on moving to NYC and letting somebody in again for the first time in a long time. It's one of the very few actual stories that I have as a song on this record; it's linked to a time and place. I know where I wrote all the other songs, but that one is part of a specific timeline and I feel that people that hear it and don't even know me will understand it, even though it's very personal and specific.

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(Jagjaguwar)

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Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-02-13 14:47:10Hey check out (and like) an awesome article of New Rock Music that has been Recently Released, featuring Sharon Van Etten's "Tramp"by one of the contributors of Culture Catch Mr. Holtje at: culturecatch.com