It has been a busy year for this New Jersey native. Despite having her first child, starring in Netflix’s The OA, and returning to school for psychology, she was able to put out an arresting new record. Sharon Van Etten returns with her fifth album, Remind Me Tomorrow, four years after the release of Are We There.
This album is as ambitious as Van Etten’s schedule; she stepped away from the familiarity of her guitar and turned to pianos, organs, and synths. Van Etten referred to it as her “reverb universe” and it is definitely one to get lost in. The celestial mood in “No One’s Easy to Love” alone proves this.
The birth of her baby boy gives Van Etten a reason to sing love songs, but she “didn’t want it to be pretty.” For example, the single, “Comeback Kid,” was originally a piano ballad before it turned into the driving dark anthem we have come to know and love since its October 2nd release.
Remind Me Tomorrow is just as the name implies, the world is beautiful but there are times when you are too busy or overwhelmed to enjoy and experience that. Van Etten explores new ways to deal with emotions in our grab-and-go lifestyles.
On track 6, “Seventeen,” Van Etten sings “I see you so uncomfortably alone/I wish I could show you how much you’ve grown.” She reflects on her times of uncertainty and fear in The City of Dreams and how she wishes she could’ve imparted some of her current wisdom on her younger self. This contemplation on her youth seems fitting with a new generation bundled in her arms.
Remind Me Tomorrow will be released January 18, 2019 through Jagjaguwar so let this serve as your reminder to check this out tomorrow!
Recommended If You Like: Angel Olsen, Cat Power, Julie Byrne, Damien Jurado
Recommended Tracks: (4) Comeback Kid, (5) Jupiter 4, (6) Seventeen
Do Not Play: (1) I Told You Everything, (7) Malibu
Written by Miranda Roberts on 01/17/2019