the Aforementioned Female Folky

I was introduced to Sharon Van Etten's music through some truly serendipitous circumstances. Austin's SXSW is famous for its capacity to introduce new listeners to new musicians (or old listeners to old musicians, or non-discriminating listeners to bad musicians, blah blah blah). Seemingly the entire city turns into a giant RIYL beer party, and that's what i love about it. Even with the expectation of uncovering new musical talent in unexpected locales, my chance encounter with Sharon Van Etten was pretty remarkable. On the recommendation of a friend of a 'friend' i dragged several other friends far off the beaten path and into a truly shitty and ugly space for what was being described as one of the many "unofficial SXSW day parties". This "party" consisted of a couple twelve packs of lone star in a fridge next to a sink full of filthy dishes, an overgrown and littered backyard, a dozen or so on-lookers, a bathroom in the remarkably untidy master bedroom, AND...... the absolutely captivating voice and guitar of Ms. Van Etten. She sat alone in the middle of a half empty living room, with late afternoon light pouring through the west facing window behind her, and sang like the words and notes she projected were the only thing that mattered in the whole world. Her body was quiet and calm but in her eyes you could see she's as raw and wide-open as the winter sky, her strength and vulnerability both at odds and working together.

Fast forward three years and her name keeps leaping out at me. She recently collaborated with She Keeps Bees, provided notable guest vocals on the Antlers album "Hospice", and finally released a proper album, "because i was in love", produced by Espers' Greg Weeks. Lucky, lucky us. That performance at SXSW07 was the kind that makes your hairs stand on end and wonder what the fuck just happened. 'Because i was in love' manages to capture that feeling and sustain it over a 50 minute record. Spare instrumentation accompanies a voice that refuses to be anything but true. She ends up reminding me of Richard Buckner in the way she derives her power from living in her fragility and vulnerability. Not reveling in, or exploiting it, but being aware and respectful of it. The sum of these small parts is anything but sparse. It's full and accomplished and downright breathtaking at times.