Third time’s a charm for Sharon Van Etten

Only a few years ago, Sharon Van Etten was sneaking off to play open-mic sessions in Tennessee. Despite the variety of musical influences she discovered there, she was constantly hiding her music and her talent from her then unsupportive musician boyfriend who toured in an Emo band and didn’t relate to, or appreciate, her intimate folk and country-infused songwriting.
Now, three albums, four continents and one appearance on Jimmy Fallon later, Van Etten still maintains her humility, but remains anything but hidden.

“It’s been absolutely overwhelming,” she said when asked about her transformation since those days in Tennessee that seem so long ago. “I’m still in shock.”

On first listen, Tramp (2012) oozes with soft, unassuming vocals, personal yet relatable lyrics, and an uncomplicated musicianship that leaves you feeling like Van Etten must have snuck into your room, read your diary and wrote the album just for you.

In “Give Out” you can feel her insecurity, her loyalty and her heartbreak, making you wonder where her inspiration comes from, since that ex-boyfriend of hers is no longer in the picture.

“I still write about experiences that happened years ago, or my friends’ experiences, or I get ideas from movies,” she admits. “Inspiration can come from almost anywhere.”

As she has let more musicians into her creative process, she has noticed that inspiration comes more easily.
“It’s kind of like in a relationship,” she explains. “When you let people into your life you become vulnerable, but the end result can be so much more than if you were to have just done it all on your own.”

Since her debut solo album Because I Was In Love (2009), Van Etten has fully embraced her vulnerability, collaborating on Tramp with The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dressner, Beirut’s Zach Condon, Jenn Wasner from Wye Oak, and The Walkmen’s Matt Barrick.

The evolution of Van Etten’s sound has guest vocals and a full band backing her this time around. Not a complete separation from her earlier works, Tramp is still simple in its composition, yet the album’s style is distinctly different; it’s heavier, more “rocking,” and despite having more external influence than ever before, Van Etten says it’s her most personal album yet.

“I’m really proud of it,” she says, in her quiet, humble voice. “I really opened up and showed more sides of myself on [Tramp]. It means a lot to me.”

Always writing, Van Etten has enough material to put out a few EPs, but she doesn’t plan to release anything until she has enough for a cohesive album. So in the meantime, she’s going to be touring—and hard.

Van Etten and her band are booked throughout the United States, Canada, Belgium, France, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, straight up until May 2012. But she’s not stopping there. Van Etten plans to book even more shows, touring for at least a year and leaving no part of the world unseen.

“Australia, New Zealand, Eastern Europe—I want to see it all,” she exclaimed, adding that touring is a very different lifestyle than recording and being in the studio, one she can’t wait to be a part of again.

And while touring is tough, she says the hardest thing she deals with is waiting to find out what people think of her new tracks.
“Some days I just laugh about it,” she said with a nervous laugh, “others I try not to think about it.”

Among a tsunami-like wave of musical talent coming from her home state of New Jersey, Van Etten says part of her drive to constantly improve may come from a deeply rooted geographical rivalry.

“It’s something about being an underdog. [New Jersey] is like New York’s step-brother, getting dragged out kicking and screaming,” she joked. “And there might be something toxic in the water.”