The latest release from Sharon Van Etten is the perfect way to introduce listeners to her emotionally rich brand of music as well as a great extension of her work for existing fans. An inspiring singer/songwriter, SVE has been made free to work with a number of great musicians and the result is a haunting and beautiful release. Tramp features production by Aaron Dessner of The National and a collection of indie rock figureheads such as Julianna Barwick, Jason Wesner of Wye Oak, and Matt Barrick of the Walkmen.
With the backing of unique indie musicians, SVE is able to highlight her powerful voice, deep emotional lyrics, and wonderful sense of form to its full extent. Confident, unique, and touching, Tramp holds a candle to some of the best female songwriters/vocalists imaginable. There is something about the delivery of her music that presents real life situations in a meaningful way, the love lost in opening track “Warsaw”, the desperation and self-doubt of “Give Out”, the uncertainty of “Serpents”; it’s almost too real.
As an artist, Van Etten perfectly fills a niche that involves a dark introspective edge with basic composition and lyrics that drill directly into the heart of the listener. This is not a musician who is being swept up in the current trends of independent music, this is someone who is presenting their life experiences in painfully down to earth and honest fashion. The minimalist instrumentals and gut wrenching melodies of “Kevin’s” is enough to describe the hole in music that SVE fills quite nicely. If you didn’t realize it during that track simply stick around for the next track titled “Leonard” where there is something eerily desperate in her voice.
Speaking of voice, this is what drives the entire Tramp album. Sure, the backing instrumentals are necessary for the entire experience, but the fluctuating and sexy voice of Van Etten is truly the highlight of the album. Ranging from low down to almost ready to burst, her range and emotion is virtually unmatched in recent history. The amount of emotion and pain poured into each track is overwhelming at times and the composition makes each song epic and extremely tense. Tramp is a balloon that has been so filled that you can see the outside layer begin to lighten from being stretched to the limit, testing its very integrity.
It’s so easy to get lost in this album. “In Line” and “All I Can” are able to completely engulf the listener, making them forget about all of their surroundings despite being only about 5 minutes long. “Magic Chords” features an absolutely brilliant composition of voice and melody as SVEs voice reaches a climax, and sweeping display that presents its own form of sultry beauty. Part of what makes Tramp such a fantastic work is the focus put into each one of her songs. Some songs feature a complex variety of instruments while others simply feature strumming with the focal point being the wonderfully crafted lyrics.
“It hurts too much to laugh about it”, lyrics contained within one of the final tracks titled “Ask”, “Tell me I’m worth all the miles you put on your car” (“I’m Wrong”), needless to say, the end of the album leave with a sense of fucked up optimism mixed with what living with emotional scars should sound like. “Chip on your shoulder, how do you deal with that weight?”(“Joke or a Lie”) brings the album to a perfect close leaving the listener satisfied and looking deeply inward. Tramp is one of the best albums of 2012 so far and I believe will remain one of the standout releases of 2012.
