Sharon Van Etten Exudes Confidence on 'Epic'

The title of Brooklyn based singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten's sophomore album is 'epic' but the lowercase lettering isn't a typo. "I really like puns," Van Etten tells Spinner. "My friends all make fun of me because of that. This album is a big change for me, but if someone was seeing me for the first time, it wouldn't seem like a big deal. But it is pretty epic. You've got to be modest."

Indeed, 'epic' sounds like a leap forward from the sparse, bedroom folk of her 2008 debut, 'Because I Was in Love.' This new collection of just seven songs sees Van Etten exploring more classic country roots arrangements, akin to the something you'd might imagine 'Harvest'-era Neil Young being obsessed with. Of that notion, the song 'Save Yourself' highlights how far Van Etten has come. She exudes a consistent confidence, as heard in the line "Don't you think I know you're only trying to save yourself?"

If 'Because I Was in Love' was Van Etten's introspective album, 'epic' certainly is a case of a young woman finding her way through a large city, looking for and often falling short of romantic success as well as finding new ways to play with her voice. One of the odder tunes of the bunch that touches upon these themes is 'Love More,' the album's closer, which was written on a harmonium. Van Etten is at a point in her young career where she can take chances, and it's things like this that make her work stand out from the singer-songwriter crowd.

"That last record might have come across as being shy or unsure of myself," she says. "I'm still learning about relationships and all that. With these songs, I'm a lot more sure of myself. I have a lot more perspective on things than I did then. It made me feel more confident in singing these arrangements."

'epic' is out now on Ba Da Bing Records.