Review:

on 2012-11-19 CharlesMartel Said:

Sharon van Etten has struggled to gain acceptance and achieve an independent identity as a female singer-songwriter. Her third album, "Tramp" sees her almost on the cusp of doing so. And yet, it also sees her begin to reach out from that position. Whether this marks a new, promising phase for van Etten remains to be seen, but "Tramp" is a step in that direction.

Van Etten's musical career got off to a poor start. Her then boyfriend managed to convince her that her first album was a crock of shit and she left Tennessee, where she was studying, to return to New Jersey as a result. Then there is that stereotyping which has bedevilled almost every female singer-songwriter since Alanis Morrissette (or was it Carole King....or was it Joni Mitchell?), the I-am-a-liberated-woman-and-I-am-singing-about-the-highs-and-lows-of-my-own-life-and-loves stereotype which is, more often than not, labelled as Adult Alternative. But slowly, van Etten has moved away from the solitary acoustic guitar accompanying a voice which you can barely hear until she has reached fuller, more complete sound. Van Etten had learnt the art and the benefit of collaboration.

"Tramp" was produced by Aaron Dressner (the National) and was recorded in pieces over more than a year, something necessitated by the schedules of both van Etten and the National. This is something which becomes apparent the closer you listen to the album. Apart from anything else, van Etten was not in a position to put together a band in the conventional sense of the word. But when your producer is well known and has his own recording studio in his house, then a lot of musically adept people drop by. Many of these ended up playing parts on various tracks of the album.

Lyrically, van Etten has found less opportunity for transition. She is still conforming to the Adult Alternative stereotype and is apparently unable to write songs in the third person, unless she refers to herself in that mode. Her songs still conform to the anticipation of a personal catharsis and the advance is that she now no longer sits alone with a guitar and whispers her pain to herself, but invites others in the room to listen and play along. She still seems haunted by the ungenerous opinion of that college-era boyfriend who derided her earliest work.

What comes across is a hurt woman crying out for some empathy, a person who is unable to trust others because she has not learned to trust herself. Every silver lining has its own dark cloud, waiting to break through and spoil everything. For instance, she laments on "Give Out" 

"You're the reason why I'll move to the city
Or why I'll need to leave"

There is no guilt here, for the most part, just acceptance of the apparent fact that life has dealt you a pair of twos and every one else you encounter has a Royal Flush. And yet there is some optimism lurking somewhere amidst all this self-deprecating gloom. "We Are Fine" sees a panic-stricken van Etten openly rely on a friend for support through a crisis. If guilt makes an appearance it is when singing "Leonard" where she admits she lost her man through her own shortcomings.

"Tramp" has the potential to be a great album. But it never will be. Because of the way it was recorded, it is patchy, and the middle three or four songs really drag. A good start and an OK ending are not enough to sustain interest fully during the whole album and attention inevitably begins to wander. What I would say is that van Etten is on the right track. She has the ability. What she needs is to assemble a group of competent musicians to provide her with a permanent sounding board for her work and then learn to appreciate the problems of other people as much as she does her own.
Rating: 6/10