Sharon Van Etten (Photo by Dusdin Condren)
On her new album, “Are We There,” Sharon Van Etten asks a question — though her designer left off the question mark — whose answer depends very much on who you’re asking.
I’ve been having a debate with someone about Sharon that demonstrates that there’s no clear answer to the question.
My debate partner thinks Sharon, whose first album, 2009’s Because I Was in Love, was a fairly stripped-down, singer-songwriter affair, has exhibited an increasing tendency to lean too heavily on studio tricks and production techniques, burying her voice, obscuring her lyrics, and seriously undercutting the impact of her songs. And her first impression of the new album is that it continues in that vein.
I had similar reservations at first, but now, after listening to Are We There a dozen times, I think that Sharon may have f0und her sweet spot.
Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? 