"DARKNESS FADES" SHARON VAN ETTEN (2022)

The moment a song is born, the world is different. It’s now a part of our lives. We sing it in the shower. We dance to it at our wedding. We get pumped with it. We break up to it. We memorize it. We try to forget it. We rediscover it. This month, I’m joining Arron Wright’s Twitter music challenge: ##Popiversary2. Because why the hell not. Songs deserve their own anniversaries, too.

Year: 2022

We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is the first album from Sharon Van Etten that I’ve listened to repeatedly from beginning to end. Van Etten’s trademark near-catatonic vocals are elevated on her newest album. Much more ethereal. Much more impactful. Each song takes my breath away. The track sequence plays a big role in this. Ebbs and flows built to lash out to and get lost in. “Darkness Fades” ushers us in, beckoning us to fall in line. Or just get out.

The opening guitar strums are so unassuming and so forgetful. Honestly, they require a bit of patience to get through. But the waiting is paid off tremendously at the 1:22 mark. From there, the immense instrumental layering of synth parts, guitar effects and ominous drum beats jostle you into a state of liberation. You can’t slow down this momentum or counter this force. After over a hundred listens, it still catches me off guard as I wait with bated breath for what’s next.

“I'M LOOKING AT OUR GRASS. I'M STRUGGLING FOR WORDS. I'M DREAMING OF A PLACE. I HELD CLOSE IN A STATE. DARKNESS FADES.”

"SILENT NIGHT" SHARON VAN ETTEN (2020)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

“Silent Night” is, in many ways, the perfect marriage of traditional Christmas carol and the moody, atmospheric musicality of Sharon Van Etten. This unique musicality starts and ends with Van Etten’s trademark vocal delivery, but the way in which the synthesizers are used in this rendition play an important role as well. “Silent Night” is traditionally sung in quiet reflection. The last Christmaa hymn at a Christmas Eve candlelight service. But here, Van Etten adds an ominous presence to the song, enabling it to linger on long after the last note is sung.

“Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing alleluia. Christ the Savior is born.”

"DARKNESS FADES" SHARON VAN ETTEN (2022)

Great album openers get the listeners to keep on listening. They can do this in any number of ways. Some openers set the tone by easing us in. Others jump right in and blow our minds from the very beginning. A great album opener isn’t an easy thing to create. More than a great song, it’s all about the sequence. Track 1 has to be the perfect starter. This month, I’m highlighting my favorites. #AlbumOpeningSongs

We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is the first album from Sharon Van Etten that I’ve listened to repeatedly from beginning to end. Van Etten’s trademark near-catatonic vocals are elevated on her newest album. Much more ethereal. Much more impactful. Each song takes my breath away. The track sequence plays a big role in this. Ebbs and flows built to lash out to and get lost in. “Darkness Fades” ushers us in, beckoning us to fall in line. Or just get out.

The opening guitar strums are so unassuming and so forgetful. Honestly, they require a bit of patience to get through. But the waiting is paid off tremendously at the 1:22 mark. From there, the immense instrumental layering of synth parts, guitar effects and ominous drum beats jostle you into a state of liberation. You can’t slow down this momentum or counter this force. After over a hundred listens, it still catches me off guard as I wait with bated breath for what’s next.

“I'm looking at our grass. I'm struggling for words. I'm dreaming of a place. I held close in a state. Darkness fades.”

"ANYTHING" SHARON VAN ETTEN (2022)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #SeptSongLyricChallenge

Day 5

There are few voices today that are as raw and haunting as Sharon Van Etten’s. And, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong has fast become my favorite album of 2022. It’s been a while since an entire album has grabbed me the way this one does. I get lost in these songs. I lose it with these songs. “Anything”, for me, brings with it a sense of catharsis. I didn’t expect this song – or the album, for that matter, to have that kind of an effect on me. There’s so much mediocrity in music these days and not enough originality. But I found something unexpected once again in the vocals and songwriting of Sharon Van Etten.

“Up the whole night, undefined. Can't stop thinking about peace and war. Up the whole night, right before the sun takes everything. It could've been anything. I didn't feel anything.”

"EVERY TIME THE SUN COMES UP" SHARON VAN ETTEN (2014)

So much of music is originality and attitude. Two things that Sharon Van Etten has pulled off unapologetically. Doing it her way. There’s nothing flashy about her music. But there’s also no one quite like her. Half the time, Van Etten’s vocals sound like she’s either sleepwalking or she’s three sheets to the wind. “Every Time the Sun Comes Up” might be the epitome of this. Incredibly gripping and visceral in its simplicity.

“Every time the sun comes up, I'm in trouble. Imagine when every time the sun comes up, I see double.”