Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow

Sharon Van Etten has long since emerged from the Brooklyn indie scene to being a force and name in her own right, headlining big places for big tours. She has not just the skills and harmonies for alt-folk and more, but a compelling voice. At its highest moments, Remind Me Tomorrow delivers that in spades.

Special mention needs to be made of “Seventeen”, the record’s amazing single. It manages to evoke not just being seventeen, not just looking at someone else who’s seventeen, but also looking back at yourself at seventeen. ‘Songs about youth’ often see it in rose-colored glasses, fret over all the lost loves and missed chances like a mid-life crisis (Van Etten did just have a child), or worse – acting like an adult can speak for the kids. “Seventeen” both puts one back in that headspace, but also realigns our views on it from today.

Admittedly, the rest of Tomorrow can’t match “Seventeen”. The rest have a lot of synths, because everyone’s got a lot of synths these days, from the better melody on “No One’s Easy to Love” to the more rocking “Comeback Kid”, but also a more forgettable back half after the single.

Even this far into her career, Sharon Van Etten can still grab you with power.