Sure to top many year-end lists, Tramp is a record written during a state of change, uneasiness and instability. Yet Van Etten is now able to reflect on the process. It’s put to her that being in that fragile state of mind made for more engaging song-writing.
“I think in the long run it represents one moment in time,” she says softly, reached on the phone from her new Brooklyn home. As Van Etten tells it, the recording process may reflect her fragile mentality, but it was that very process that kept her grounded. “The sounds may have been written during a chaotic and unstable time, but they brought a lot of stability to my life.”
The surroundings of the recording process still bear a heavy emotional resonance for Van Etten. There’s a build within Give Out that makes her slow loss of confidence palpable and In Line moves so softly, yet still harkens for stability.
Van Etten has spent a good portion of 2012 on the road promoting Tramp. As painful as it might be at times, she still finds herself returning to the situations which gave birth to the songs while playing them live. “I remember where I was when I wrote the songs, every single time I play them live. With most of the songs I’ve written in fact, I can emotionally return to that place. I have a good perspective on how I’ve moved on from some of these places, but there’s still an emotional checklist at times,” she laughs.
The more touring Van Etten does, the more she is able to gain perspective on the world around her. It’s a process that’s benefitted her songwriting, and she insists she’ll soon be able to separate herself from the sheer emotion of Tramp. “At some point I’m going to have to separate myself from these songs, because I’m trying to write more and more universal songs,” she admits.
“I still feel though that I’m progressing with my writing in a very natural way. My writing is still coming from a place that I can relate to, though eventually, I would like to move away from full-on journal-styled writing.”
As difficult a time as it was for Van Etten, she wasn’t alone. Tramp features an array of indie rock’s most celebrated figures, including the Dessner brothers from The National, The Walkmen’s Matt Barrick and Julianna Barwick. Van Etten has downplayed the notion that her next album will be in the same vein. Instead, Van Etten is keen to find a balance between working with friends and with her new touring band.
“I opened myself up a lot more to collaboration on that record,” she says. “Because of the band I have playing with me now, I’m more comfortable playing music in a lot of different places. The one thing I’m looking forward to having friends and special guests on the record, but I have a set band for the next record. There are songs that we’ve finished writing together; I can bring an idea to practice and we’ll work on it together. I’ve never worked with a band in that way; I’ve always been very solo in the way I’ve written. I’m looking forward to it though, for the next record. Again, it’ll be the opposite of Tramp in that way, in that it’ll be more consistent with the band and its production.”
You can hear her breathe a sigh of both relief and happiness as Van Etten says the word: Consistent. She’s surrounded herself with good people and a comfortable home life. It’s the very definition of moving forward, and Sharon Van Etten couldn’t be more excited about what’s sure to come next.
“These days I’m writing from a much more positive place. It’s actually turning into quite the opposite from [Tramp. I feel a lot more settled down, even though I’m touring all the time, I still have a house I can return to when I come off tour. I’m in a very healthy relationship too, and we’re both madly in love with each other,” she says, laughing slightly.
“I’m in a very stable place and I feel like my most recent songs reflect that. I don’t see it being a necessarily poppy record, but it’s going to be a more happy, positive record. I’m finding it’s easier to be mid-tempo and optimistic,” she chuckles.
Once a homeless, wandering raconteur, Van Etten has benefitted from being around the people she loves. It’s a credo she’s happy to stick to. “It’s a lot easier to work in an environment when you’re surrounded by your friends. It’s a very basic idea, but it’s a very important one.”
BY JOSHUA KLOKE
