Graham Reid | | <1 min read
Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)
There's nothing in the contract which says musicians need to grow, evolve and progress.
In fact there's plenty of evidence – Status Quo, ZZ Top and Liam Gallagher spring to mind – that staying much the same is a perfectly valid career option.
For an audience there's certainty in the familiar, and not everyone is capable of going the whole Bowie.
Sharon Van Etten has pushed boundaries on every album and has frequently had synths in her armoury.
But on this seventh album, a full-blown, shadowy but elevating synth-Goth mood prevails.
The five minute-plus opener Live Forever – buoyed by increasing gales of keyboards and electronics as Van Etten goes from a whisper to operatic anguish – is an arresting start to a collection taking its lead from New Order (Idiot Box), recent Gary Numan (the emotionally monochromatic Southern Life) and locating itself somewhere between Lena Lovich and Siouxie Sioux on the lesser I Can't Imagine (Why You Feel This Way).
This dramatic musical architecture suits themes of unease and uncertainty, and Van Etten peppers in typically powerful melodies, snappy synth-pop (Something Ain't Right) and quieter moments (the dreamy Trouble and weightless Fading Beauty).
Not everything works (Indio) and for some this will be a leap into dark waters. But Van Etten's empathetic voice (the closer I Want You Here) assures you won't drown.
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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here
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