Joe runs through every album on his iPod, mostly in alphabetical order, and offers some brief thoughts. Check out previous columns HERE.
This is a slow album. What exactly is it about Are We There that made me fall so deeply in love with it? Because I typically like my albums fast and tight, and this is neither. So why Are We There? Pam and I had this discussion just the other night, relating to how she tends to glob on to certain albums throughout the year and listen to them over and over, and ignore other albums in favor of listening to one of her favorites again. I asked her, why these albums? Is it ineffable? Can we really explain the nuances of our musical tastes? I'm not sure. I don't know if I'll be able to adequately explain why I'm so fond of Sharon Van Etten's 2014 effort. But I suppose I'll try, or else why am I even here?
THEORY #1: Maybe classifying this as a "slow" album was slightly imprecise. Yeah, there's a bunch of sluggish songs and slinky songs, but Van Etten brings the fire to those, no matter the tempo. "Our Love" is a good example. It may be lullaby speed, but it's not putting anyone to sleep; just listen to her jump rope with the chorus that consists of her repeating "It's our love" over and over, but different every time. "Tarifa" has the perfect horn-section flourishes that elevate it above your typical waltz-style ballad. "Break Me" has a chorus with one of those piano players that plays the same note over and over (I wish I knew the name for this style of playing), which I love and which really raises the stakes in a song and makes it exciting. The opener, "Afraid of Nothing," could practically be a National song if the vocals were different; it starts with a musical "we're all waking up slowly" section, before doing a very National-like trick of switching the time signature mid-song. It's cool! All of this is great!
THEORY #2: The album touches on the theme of "relationships are hard," which is a universal theme that anyone can empathize with. Various interviews from 2014 indicate that Van Etten was going through a rough breakup around this time with a guy who couldn't handle the fact that she was away touring for nine months out of the year. I can imagine that was a tough situation; I can literally imagine it because those conflicted, consuming thoughts are splattered all over every lyric on the album. I mean, look no further than "Your Love Is Killing Me," in which Van Etten's soaring voice expresses the hurt and the shame in such lyrics as "Break my legs so I can't run to you / Cut my tongue so I can't talk to you." This is self-torture made literal. Sometimes love and loss really does feel like burning your skin or stabbing your eyes. Sharon Van Etten draws the listeners in by reflecting on her own pain, and the listeners see themselves.
THEORY #3: A perfect final song makes for a perfect record. This is perhaps a weak theory in general, but with a finale like "Every Time the Sun Comes Up," it might just hold true in this case. It comes off like a late-night stoned-out session in the studio (e.g. the lyrics "I washed your dishes / But I shit in your bathroom), but that's a good thing here. It's refreshing after ten songs punching you in the gut repeatedly. Over a "Be My Baby"-style kickbeat, Van Etten reflects on the carnage she may have caused by laying all her shit out on the table. "I'm in trouble" ends the chorus' repeat. And yeah, that might be true, but the song ends with a laugh. Sharon Van Etten is brave for being so open. Every time the sun comes up, she's a fucking badass.
I don't know which theory is correct. Maybe it's all three. Maybe it's something different. Music is weird and wonderful in the way that it hits you from different and strange angles all the damn time. Maybe if you try Are We There you'll like it too. Put it on in the middle of night, maybe play it softly when it's 3 AM like you're the last one left at the sleazy European wine bar where you got drunk at after your girlfriend left you for good this time. It'd be a good album for that. And other situations, of course.
Are We There
Sharon Van Etten
2014
This is a slow album. What exactly is it about Are We There that made me fall so deeply in love with it? Because I typically like my albums fast and tight, and this is neither. So why Are We There? Pam and I had this discussion just the other night, relating to how she tends to glob on to certain albums throughout the year and listen to them over and over, and ignore other albums in favor of listening to one of her favorites again. I asked her, why these albums? Is it ineffable? Can we really explain the nuances of our musical tastes? I'm not sure. I don't know if I'll be able to adequately explain why I'm so fond of Sharon Van Etten's 2014 effort. But I suppose I'll try, or else why am I even here?
THEORY #1: Maybe classifying this as a "slow" album was slightly imprecise. Yeah, there's a bunch of sluggish songs and slinky songs, but Van Etten brings the fire to those, no matter the tempo. "Our Love" is a good example. It may be lullaby speed, but it's not putting anyone to sleep; just listen to her jump rope with the chorus that consists of her repeating "It's our love" over and over, but different every time. "Tarifa" has the perfect horn-section flourishes that elevate it above your typical waltz-style ballad. "Break Me" has a chorus with one of those piano players that plays the same note over and over (I wish I knew the name for this style of playing), which I love and which really raises the stakes in a song and makes it exciting. The opener, "Afraid of Nothing," could practically be a National song if the vocals were different; it starts with a musical "we're all waking up slowly" section, before doing a very National-like trick of switching the time signature mid-song. It's cool! All of this is great!
THEORY #2: The album touches on the theme of "relationships are hard," which is a universal theme that anyone can empathize with. Various interviews from 2014 indicate that Van Etten was going through a rough breakup around this time with a guy who couldn't handle the fact that she was away touring for nine months out of the year. I can imagine that was a tough situation; I can literally imagine it because those conflicted, consuming thoughts are splattered all over every lyric on the album. I mean, look no further than "Your Love Is Killing Me," in which Van Etten's soaring voice expresses the hurt and the shame in such lyrics as "Break my legs so I can't run to you / Cut my tongue so I can't talk to you." This is self-torture made literal. Sometimes love and loss really does feel like burning your skin or stabbing your eyes. Sharon Van Etten draws the listeners in by reflecting on her own pain, and the listeners see themselves.
THEORY #3: A perfect final song makes for a perfect record. This is perhaps a weak theory in general, but with a finale like "Every Time the Sun Comes Up," it might just hold true in this case. It comes off like a late-night stoned-out session in the studio (e.g. the lyrics "I washed your dishes / But I shit in your bathroom), but that's a good thing here. It's refreshing after ten songs punching you in the gut repeatedly. Over a "Be My Baby"-style kickbeat, Van Etten reflects on the carnage she may have caused by laying all her shit out on the table. "I'm in trouble" ends the chorus' repeat. And yeah, that might be true, but the song ends with a laugh. Sharon Van Etten is brave for being so open. Every time the sun comes up, she's a fucking badass.
I don't know which theory is correct. Maybe it's all three. Maybe it's something different. Music is weird and wonderful in the way that it hits you from different and strange angles all the damn time. Maybe if you try Are We There you'll like it too. Put it on in the middle of night, maybe play it softly when it's 3 AM like you're the last one left at the sleazy European wine bar where you got drunk at after your girlfriend left you for good this time. It'd be a good album for that. And other situations, of course.
~~~~~~~~~~~
If this album sounds interesting, try this song: "Taking Chances"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Stray Observations
- In an interview for Exclaim! (a magazine that takes its punctuation marks very seriously), the lack of a question mark is explained by Van Etten: "I ask myself that question all the time, for my work, for my love, even for my friends. It's just really good to check in with yourself and it's a play on words, about touring and about traveling, being in transition." Err... I'm not really sure that this answers the question at all.
- Hey, Sharon Van Etten was in the indie music press recently. Apparently she was part of the "surprise lineup" at a music festival, and unfortunately was "extra-rusty, with false-started songs and off-key vocals." You won't find any of that shit on this album, believe me.
- FRONT COVER: A female, let's assume Van Etten herself, is driving a car and has her head out of the window. She is possibly indicating that she is "free" from the chains of a relationship and is now on the open road to new possibilities, but that's all conjecture.
- I did not listen to this until after 2014, which is why you won't see her if you go back and read my 2014 Best Music list. Were I to re-rank the albums, this would go as high as #2. Look for Are We There to seek revenge by rapidly climbing the 2010s Best Music list in December 2019.
NEXT TIME: Are You Experienced by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
No comments:
Post a Comment