Kevin R - 2/29/2012

New Jersey artist Sharon Van Etten's first album "Because I was in Love" was almost cliched singer-songwriter, all spare arrangements, acoustic guitar and songs of heartbreak. But what a voice: vulnerable and strong, small then soaring, it drew the listener in and made you want to hear more. With her follow up she's built on everything good about her debut and pushed herself to explore the more complex musical arrangements her classic songwriting deserves.
At only seven songs and barely 32 minutes this record at first seems more ep than epic. The writing is autobiographical and confessional with Van Etten exploring darkness, despair, weakness, anger and the small neglects and abuses of failing relationships. This is not a whiny record full of blame, it is clear-sighted to an extraordinary degree and the singer reserves some of the harshest words for herself. She sings with an intensity and emotional directness that recalls early Cat Power and while her voice has a beautiful soaring tone, she isn't afraid to dirty it up, slurring and stretching her phrasing. Melody is highlighted and Van Etten surrounds herself with the raw harmonies of several female voices from the Brooklyn scene, Meg Baird, Cat Martino and Jessica Larrabee (She Keeps Bees). Musically there is enough variation in style and sound to keep things interesting - the driving, electric, rhythm of "Peace Sign", the pedal-steel wash of countryish "Save Yourself" - but for many it wil be the two slower, moodier songs where Van Etten is accompanied by little more than a harmonium that will stand out from the first listen. Of these it is final track "Love More" which is the album's highpoint. A song that has already been covered by Bon Iver and The National, it begins with the startling lines "Tied to my bed, I was younger then, I had nothing to spend but time on you, it made me love, it made me love, it made me love more." It is sung with an intimacy and rawness that is emotionally draining to listen to and indeed the whole record has an intensity that is only partly relieved by the clever idea of leaving in some of the recording studio banter as when Van Etten says after finishing a song that she knows she made a fluff but can't remember where.
This album is beautifully sung and a strong collection of songs that builds to one final, emotional epic. The sound of a young artist finding her voice.