Albums to watch

We've Been Going About This All Wrong

Sharon Van Etten

We've Been Going About This All Wrong

Sixth album from the Brooklyn-based indie folk singer-songwriter produced by Daniel Knowles

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
Jagjaguwar
UK Release date
06/05/2022
US Release date
06/05/2022
  1. 9.0 |   DIY

    Very much the most mature Sharon Van Etten offering to date - and perhaps the most musically accomplished, too
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  2. 8.8 |   Beats Per Minute

    Her voice has never sounded better, and her songs have never sounded more substantial
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  3. 8.4 |   Paste Magazine

    Finds her fully in command of her ever-deepening talent
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  4. 8.2 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    In essence, it plays as a retrospective look back at Van Etten's journey through the musical landscape and the emotional arc which accompanied it, without ever feeling like a self-congratulatory greatest hits exercise
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  5. 8.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    If you like music that shines upon an artist’s individuality while incorporating a plethora of dimensions and being tightly knit in terms of structure, definitely grab yourself a copy of Van Etten’s new LP
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  6. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    One of America’s finest songwriters designs a collection of songs to be listened to all at once
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  7. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Sharon Van Etten grapples with love and parenthood in pandemic times in the ten deeply felt songs on We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
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  8. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Across its 10 tracks, it incorporates the Jupiter synths and saturnine beats of Remind Me Tomorrow and the stark, swooning strum of her early records to create truly a cosmic dynamic range, from the softest whisper to the most desolate scream. Print edition only

  9. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    The charisma and warmth of the songs hold sway over everything
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  10. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    It finds Van Etten grappling with how to make a home and a life when everything feels royally fucked, when all the old ways have collapsed around you
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  11. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Synths mimicking orchestras are pushed to their most epic limits, and Sharon Van Etten overpowers all of it as she mourns endings of all sorts – motherhood, relationships, war and peace. Her music has always felt this big. Now it sounds this big, too
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  12. 8.0 |   All Music

    Van Etten isn't wallowing in melancholy, she's accepting the sadness along with the joy, using both emotions to push into a new stage of life. That sense of optimism, no matter how muted it may sometimes be, gives We've Been Going About This All Wrong an air of unguarded hope
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  13. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    While she returns to a familiar new wave terrain on I'll Try, Van Etten instead pushes her sleek 80s stylings to new and exciting directions on Mistake
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  14. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    At only 10 tracks and 39 minutes, it leaves you wanting more, so the logical choice is just to play it again and be mesmerized another time
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  15. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    After such a thrilling record with anthems to spare, don’t be surprised if Van Etten is a festival headliner before the album tour is done
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  16. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Serves to articulate feelings we have in common, and how the journey of life can be as beautiful as it is terrifying
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  17. 7.8 |   Pitchfork

    Produced in her home studio in Los Angeles, Sharon Van Etten’s sixth album embraces the complications of the past two years. It is her most epic record, yet lyrically it is her most insular
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  18. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Her sixth album is an impressive mid-career statement on restlessness, contentment and everything in between
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  19. 7.0 |   Albumism

    It’s an enjoyable, sonically beautiful album
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  20. 6.0 |   The Observer

    Holding it all together mid-pandemic, Van Etten’s sixth album of highs and lows struggles to strike a resounding chord
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  21. 6.0 |   NME

    The artist's home-recorded sixth album sees her navigate her roles as a parent and musician, grapple with her demons and reclaim her past mistakes
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  22. 6.0 |   Mojo

    It builds a new stoic eloquence into her vulnerability, even if the stark, birdsong-imbued Darkish drips with Radiohead-like ennui. Print edition only


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