Album Review: Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

Sharon Van Etten - Tramp (2012, Jagjaguwar)

Spotify

Mog

-By Justin

Sharon Van Etten’s exponential growth as an artist has been staggering. While she has always been a great songwriter, her musicianship has just recently begun to evolve at the same level. 2010’s Epic was an emotionally powerful album that showed a massive amount of potential in an all too short package. On Sharon’s latest album, Tramp, she has brought in some friends to help her expand her sound. The National’s Aaron Dressner produced Tramp. He did an amazing job of adding where it was needed, and letting Van Etten’s voice and lyrics do the bulk of the work when it was appropriate. Featured guests include Julianna Barwick, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, and Beirut’s Zach Condon. Tramp is Van Etten’s first truly fully formed record, and at this early point in the year, one of the best albums of the year.

Van Etten’s writing is many times at it’s best when she is being self deprecating. Her honest assessment of love in the many forms it is portrayed in her lyrics has always been a strong point for her, and it’s no different on Tramp. The opener, “Warsaw”, deals with someone coming to terms with a lover that no longer shows interest in them. the speaker tries to convince herself that she should move on and have confidence, and a part that stands out to me is when the speaker says to herself repeatedly “He is over you” and then responds to herself with “I want to be over you”. While it is not a beautiful lyrics or poetic in any way, it is surprisingly blunt and feels almost creepily personal. She has a way of understanding the mind set of the different faces of love and affection better than maybe any other current songwriter.

This is again apparent on the second track, “Give Out”, which uses a series of plays on words to set up her lack of confidence in wooing a potential partner. The line “you’re the reason why I’ll move to the city or why I’ll need to leave” would feel so sappy and hackneyed on so many other records, but Sharon makes you understand that the speaker in the song also feels how pathetic it sounds. “Serpent” is the next song on the album, and shows off some of the fleshed out sound that Tramp has to offer after two relatively simple arrangements. We get a pounding drum section (from The National’s own Matt Berninger) along with multiple guitars to fill out the track. It is a fast paced angry song about an abusive relationship and one of the strongest tracks that she has ever made. The ever busy Jenn Wasner provides backing vocals on the track as well.

The album slows slightly on “Kevin’s”, the first track to feature Julianna Barwick. This is the first track I didn’t really feel on the album. While the lyrics are still up to standard, it is a standard fare song without much emotion. It feels like a letdown compared to the first three songs. It’s less about it being bad and more about it not standing out compared to its surrounding material. “Leonard” may be the best track on Tramp. Again we see another shade of love. This time it is Van Etten’s speaker that is hurting a lover that she seems to love but can’t make the right connection. The song is still one of the more upbeat songs on the album, and the most beautiful. The use of mandolin and violin on this track is what makes it stand out, and gives it a uniqueness among the other tracks.

“In Line” while not my favorite track on the album. May be the the most harrowing on the album depending on how you interpret it. Although I’ll let the reader make his or her own interpretation, I feel like the ghostly and ethereal quality to the song really fit the lyrical content. “All I Can” is a quaint little piano driven song, something we haven’t had much of yet on the album. It’s a nice change of pace after “In Line”. It also builds up to a very rewarding climax.

Next up are the two songs featuring Zach Condon, “We Are Fine” and “Magic Chords”. “We Are Fine” is the only truly positive song on the album. Condon’s voice is a surprisingly strong addition to Van Etten’s voice. Considering his relatively unique singing voice, he never really overpowers Van Etten, though you definitely notice when he is singing. His presence on these two songs really almost saves the album from becoming stale, and adds an extra layer that is unexpected the first listen through. 

The album winds down with its final three songs. “Ask” and “I’m Wrong” seem like Van Etten’s take on long distance relationships. Specifically in “I’m Wrong” when she states “Tell me I’m worth all the miles you put on your car”. While she worries that the relationship might be falling apart, all she wants is reassurance from her partner. Again, her songwriting is so honest and relatable, like it has been throughout the whole album. This is really where she shines, and her strength in that department is almost unbelievable. The album ends on the downtrodden “Joke or a Lie”. After Epic ended on a positive note with “Love More”, “Joke or a Lie” almost feels too ambiguous to be an outro track. But musically it certainly has the feeling of a denouement.

Tramp is a triumphant album for Van Etten. The musical composition on the album has finally almost caught up to her emotionally powerful songwriting. While it gets most of the tone right, there are a few hits and misses just in pace that bring it down slightly. Tramp is Sharon Van Etten’s most complete album to date, and she is finally starting to cash in on the massive potential that she showed on her earlier albums. It’s scary to think that she probably has even better albums than this ahead of her.

8. 7/10

Songs I Starred On Spotify:

• Warsaw
• Give Out
• Serpents
• Leonard
• All I Can
• We Are Fine
• Magic Chords
• Ask
• I’m Wrong