Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory release “Trouble,” the final pre-release single from their forthcoming self-titled debut album Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, out February 7th via Jagjaguwar. On the heels of the “ripping” and “mesmerizing” (FLOOD) “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like),” “Trouble” is a cascading, almost euphoric track characteristic of the mystical mix of electronics and analog textures found throughout the album. “Trouble” features Van Etten’s unmistakable vocals alongside melancholic synths by Teeny Lieberson and driving and melodic bass lines by Devra Hoff.
Van Etten explains, “’Trouble’ is about the idea of having to coexist with people you love who have opposing views, and not being able to share deep parts of yourself and your narrative based on someone else’s beliefs. It’s about when there’s that big part of you that someone who loves you can’t know because it’s not something they want to hear or are willing to learn about or understand, and those painful realizations when you choose to love and respect someone else’s needs over your own to salvage a relationship.”
The video for “Trouble” was shot and directed by Susu Laroche during the album’s recording sessions at Eurythmics’ former London studio, The Church.
From the off, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory is sonically different from Van Etten’s previous work. Writing and recording in total collaboration with her band – Jorge Balbi, Hoff, and Lieberson – for the first time, Van Etten finds the freedom that comes by letting go. It’s somewhat terrifying, but also liberating. The result of that liberation is an exhilarating new dimension of sound and songwriting. The themes are timeless, classic Sharon – life and living, love and being loved – but the sounds are new, wholly realized and sharp as glass.
Reflecting on this new artistic frame of mind, Van Etten muses, “Sometimes it’s exciting, sometimes it’s scary, sometimes you feel stuck. It’s like every day feels a little different – just being at peace with whatever you’re feeling and whoever you are and how you relate to people in that moment. If I can just keep a sense of openness while knowing that my feelings change every day, that is all I can do right now. That and try to be the best person I can be while letting other people be who they are and not taking it personally and just being.”
Next month, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory will play three special shows leading into release week, including her first ever hometown headline show at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey on February 4th. Following a UK and European tour, the band will pick back up for a month of shows across North America in April and May. A full list of dates can be found below, and tickets are available here.
Pre-order Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Watch the Video for “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)”
Watch the Video for “Afterlife”
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory Tour Dates
Sat. Feb. 1 – Westerly, RI @ The United #
Mon. Feb. 3 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater # – SOLD OUT
Tue. Feb. 4 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony – First Home State Headline Show #
Fri. Feb. 28 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller *
Sat. Mar. 1 – Stockholm, SE @ Fållan *
Sun. Mar. 2 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega *
Tue. Mar. 4 – Berlin, DE @ Astra Kulturhaus *
Thu. Mar. 6 – Paris, FR @ Le Trianon *
Fri. Mar. 7 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma *
Sat. Mar. 8 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso *
Mon. Mar. 10 – London, UK @ Royal Albert Hall *
Tue. Mar. 11 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall *
Wed. Mar. 12 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom *
Thu. Apr. 24 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern ^
Fri. Apr. 25 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl ^
Sat. Apr. 26 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel ^
Mon. Apr. 28 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ^
Wed. Apr. 30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
Thu. May 1 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner ^
Fri. May 2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ^
Mon. May 5 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall ^
Tue. May 6 – Toronto, ON @ History ^
Thu. May 8 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee ^
Fri. May 9 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed ^
Sat. May 10 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre ^
Mon. May 12 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre ^
Tue. May 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall ^
Thu. May 15 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile ^
Fri. May 16 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile ^ – SOLD OUT
Sat. May 17 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre ^
Sun. May 18 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall ^
Wed. May 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ^
# with She Keeps Bees
* with special guest Nabihah Iqbal
^ with Love Spells
Keep your mind open.
[It’s no trouble to subscribe. It’s pretty easy, really. Go ahead.]
[Thanks to Yuri at Pitch Perfect PR.]
