While mainstays like the Cactus Blossoms and Chastity Brown dropped strong new records timed to touring, lesser-knowns like Tearra Oso and Joe Rainey invented bold new sounds.
epic, in a register of grounded wisdom. âTo say the things I want to say to you would be a crime/To admit Iâm still in love with you after all this time,â Van Etten declares on âA Crime.â She weaves her verse into a tangle of seduction and toxicity before landing on a clear thought that becomes a promise and a refrain: âNever let myself love like that again.â Van Etten sings herself into and out of these seven self-preserving words. Each syllable becomes a life raft for anyone who needs it.
epicâs seven songs of survival and becoming marked the firm arrival of then-29-year-old Sharon Van Etten from New Jersey to Brooklyn and the forefront of indie rock. With a lingering twang from five turbulent years in Tennessee,