Sharon Van Etten: Tramp

"She’s a young singer-songwriter in Brooklyn, and she has a heart-stoppingly powerful voice. Her alto range and slow, sensuous delivery result in frequent comparisons to Cat Power’s Chan Marshall, which is not off the mark but doesn’t get at the deep, clenched anxiety in Ms. Van Etten’s music. In her breakup songs she can sound wounded, angry, wronged — yet still loving. At last year’s SXSW I saw her play a small, sparsely attended set. I was already a fan, but her performance was arresting. 'How come the whole world doesn’t know about her?' I remember thinking. But wheels were already turning. On the street the next morning I bumped into Darius Van Arman, the head of Jagjaguwar Records (Bon Iver, Oneida), who told me that he had just signed her. This year Ms. Van Etten is back, and she’s a SXSW darling. Her album, 'Tramp,' was just released, and it has been acclaimed as one of the best of the year" (Ben Sisario, "SXSW: What a Difference a Year Has Made for Sharon Van Etten," New York Times, 3/16/12).

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