Melds pedal steel and electronica into something really rather gorgeous.
Sharon Van Etten's own description of her songs as "sad prairie folk music" is in part accurate; certainly the seven tracks that make up her latest offering, Epic, own all the wide-skied wistfulness of the American folk tradition. But such statements do little justice to Van Etten's ear for near-pop catchiness – single One Day, for example, runs at a pleasingly radio-friendly lollop, spurred on a little by shades of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Raised in Tennessee, now based in Brooklyn, Van Etten recorded Epic in Philadelphia, hauling in guest vocals from Meg Baird of Espers, Jessica Larrabee of She Keeps Bees and Cat Martino. The tracks here are a step to the left of her debut, Because I Was in Love – longer, more sonically adventurous, melding pedal steel and electronica into something really rather gorgeous. Most notable is the album's closer, Love More, a paean to lost love and the past, recently covered live by Bon Iver: "I was younger then / I had nothing to spend / But time on you," she sings duskily. "It made me love / It made me love / It made me love more."
Lees de rest van deze review op BBC CD recensies (Engels)
Bron: BBC Music