Staff Reviews

Sharon van Etten - Tramp

Review by Dan Cooper-Gavin

If Epic was a hidden treasure, Tramp feels like Sharon Van Etten’s career-defining album.»

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The shimmering sound of Tramp both defies and illuminates the unsteadiness of a life in flux. Throughout the 14 months of scattered recording sessions, Van Etten was without a home -- crashing with friends and storing her possessions between varied locations. The only constant in Van Etten's life during this time was spent in the garage studio of The National's Aaron Dessner. A two-year journey brought her to that point of instability. Upon the release of the intricate, understated epic, VanEtten surprised the music world with a touching embrace. Coming off the release of her spartan first effort, Because I Was In Love (2009, Language of Stone), Van Etten created a short album of diverse songs connected by a shared goal of an expanded sound and her unmistakable voice. Since epic’s release, she has opened the Pitchfork Music Festival, played The Hollywood Bowl with Neko Case and at Radio City Music Hall with The Antlers, sung on new records for Beirut and Ed Askew, and collaborated with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and Megafaun on theSongs Of The South project.