_Igor_Stevanovic_Alamy_Stock_Photo.jpg?#)
Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory album review – back in rock mode, with a twist
(Jagjaguwar)The singer-songwriter’s seventh album, co-written with her band, takes a turn for the gothic that doesn’t always serve her purposesThere’s only the odd mention of parenting on Sharon Van Etten’s new album, co-written for the first time with her band, the Attachment Theory. But early years imprinting – one aspect of attachment theory – has lasting echoes in adult behaviour, and what we do to each other has long been a theme in the American singer-songwriter’s compelling work, so much so she trained as a counsellor and has ambitions to be a psychotherapist.After a period hanging out with country-leaning fellow travellers such as Angel Olsen and Margot Price, Van Etten is back in rock mode for her seventh album overall, but with a twist: this record’s tonal choices often favour wafting, almost gothic resonances. Synths hover, Van Etten’s voice swoops; everything is gauze in a draught. There has always been something wonderfully smeared about her melodic voice, but the icy shadow in which everything here is cast often distracts from her searching songcraft, so replete with queries and ruminations. Southern Life (What Must It Be Like) is winningly mantric, one instance of simpatico between track and treatment. But Van Etten is on far more substantial 80s ground with Idiot Box, which has the scope and heft of Bruce Springsteen. Continue reading...
(Jagjaguwar)
The singer-songwriter’s seventh album, co-written with her band, takes a turn for the gothic that doesn’t always serve her purposes
There’s only the odd mention of parenting on Sharon Van Etten’s new album, co-written for the first time with her band, the Attachment Theory. But early years imprinting – one aspect of attachment theory – has lasting echoes in adult behaviour, and what we do to each other has long been a theme in the American singer-songwriter’s compelling work, so much so she trained as a counsellor and has ambitions to be a psychotherapist.
After a period hanging out with country-leaning fellow travellers such as Angel Olsen and Margot Price, Van Etten is back in rock mode for her seventh album overall, but with a twist: this record’s tonal choices often favour wafting, almost gothic resonances. Synths hover, Van Etten’s voice swoops; everything is gauze in a draught. There has always been something wonderfully smeared about her melodic voice, but the icy shadow in which everything here is cast often distracts from her searching songcraft, so replete with queries and ruminations. Southern Life (What Must It Be Like) is winningly mantric, one instance of simpatico between track and treatment. But Van Etten is on far more substantial 80s ground with Idiot Box, which has the scope and heft of Bruce Springsteen. Continue reading...
