Sharon Van Etten, 'I Don’t Want To Let You Down'
Jagjaguwar
“It’s not my fault, it’s just my flaw, it’s who I am,” sings Sharon Van Etten in “It All Falls Apart,” one of the five songs off her new EP. This fragile-yet-strong statement is typical of Van Etten, whose work as a songwriter is more often than not painted with the inky blue of heartbreak and introspection.
I Don’t Want To Let You Down saw both Van Etten and Stewart Lerman in the producer’s seat, much like her 2014 LP Are We There. There are moments of sheer beauty, compliments of siblings Peter Broderick and Heather Woods-Broderick on strings for “It All Falls Apart.” They join her again on the moody “Pay My Debts,” in which Van Etten’s warm and warbling voice is backed by the War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel and David Harley, as well as Stuart Bogie of Antibalas. The EP finishes with “Tell Me”, a live recording of Van Etten performing at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre Del Liceu. Her voice dominates the room, somehow translating the raw intimacy of her live shows into the recording.
While most of the songs feel like they could have been Are We There B-sides or bonus tracks, Van Etten’s melancholy magic is still worth pausing for. She will not let you down. She never has.
All ratings out of five:
4/5
