It’s a special gift.Īnother is her ear for a tune, and, musically, this album is a revelation. You said: ‘Holy shit – you almost died’.” One of the enduring attractions of Van Etten’s songwriting is this ability to express her own emotions while leaving enough space for the listener to interpret and impose their own meaning. That passion runs through all its ten songs, from the poignant piano-led opener I Told You Everything, in which she’s confiding secrets to a stranger in a bar and curiously, yet typically, does not reveal the secret itself merely the reaction to it: “I told you everything. It is, above all, a record “about pursuing your passions,” as she puts it. It’s a delicate balance, but one that’s explained by the fact she wrote and recorded much of this album while pregnant with her first child, completing the lyrics while contemplating her newborn baby. There’s still darkness and doubt in her songs – how could there not be for a new mother bringing a baby into today’s uncertain world – but the anxieties of the younger artist are tempered by optimism and hope, courage and confidence.
She’s grown into an accomplished actress (in two seasons of Netflix series The OA and, as herself, in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks revival), become a soundtrack composer (she scored Katherine Dieckmann’s film Strange Weather), gone back to school (studying for a psychology degree at Brooklyn College in order to become a mental health counsellor) and, most life-changingly of all, become a mother. In the four years since her last release, the EP I Don’t Want To Let You Down, it’s not just her musical backing that’s changed. Where once she was a wounded but resilient surveyor of romantic breakup, working within a gentle Americana-tinged musical framework (she’s still described in her Allmusic bio as a folk singer), Remind Me Tomorrow introduces listeners to a strong, confident artist who still channels senstitivity but can also turn her hand to anthems carried along on big drums and synthesisers. Remind Me Tomorrow is the kind of progression we’ve come to expect from Van Etten she doesn’t work in extremes, she evolves gently and organically, keeping top-class songwriting at the core of everything she does.A decade after emerging with intimate songs of heartbreak set to sparse accompaniments, Sharon Van Etten has grown into a very different woman, and a very different artist.
The record is full of her best lyrics yet thoughtful, relatable and beautiful words that she delivers with a natural confidence that makes you want to spend more and more time with her. Throughout the entire record, you want to hang on to every word that Van Etten sings. ‘ I used to feel free/ Was it just a dream?’ she adds in the final chorus.Įlongated atmospheric jams like ‘Jupiter 4’ and ‘Memorial Day’ are somewhat less direct than the most memorable moments on the record, but they temper the pace of the record beautifully and still pack the same endearing, hooky punch of the more straightforward tracks. ‘ I wish I could show you how much you've grown,’ Van Etten sings.
The tale of returning to the place where you came of age, meeting with old friends and basically questioning how your life matches up to how you thought it might have been. You can deny that the big-sky American beauty of ‘Seventeen’ has Springsteen fingerprints all over it. The despondent, pulsating pop of ‘No One’s Easy To Love’ is a definite highlight, the equally direct ‘Comeback Kid’ has already proved a popular addition to her arsenal and the wonderfully wonky ‘Stay’ feels like the perfect parting salvo. Van Etten flirts with a range of different pop approaches on Remind Me Tomorrow, but keeps things reined in enough to make this a beautifully cohesive piece of work. It’s a completely gripping line that leads into a gorgeously restrained ballad, but it’s not necessarily indicative of what’s to come on the record. You almost died’,’ she sings in ‘I Told You Everything’. ‘ Sitting at the bar, I told you everything. Now, she’s followed that record up with perhaps her most gripping set of songs yet. Its songs soared and the quality of the record saw Van Etten pick up more much-deserved acclaim. Her 2014 record Are We There was not only her most popular, but it was her finest hour to boot. Sharon Van Etten’s gradual growth over the past 15 years or so has cemented her as a songwriter we can trust.