Sharon Van Etten – Tramp (2012) [Jagjaguwar] // Grade: B+

Gosh, that must have been a bad relationship. Over three albums now, the folk songstress Sharon Van Etten has painted an exhaustive and at times disturbing portrait of the latter half, end, and aftermath of an abusive, all consuming lovers fugue. Perhaps now, if the sound of Tramp is any litmus, she’s finally able, and more than ready to move on. With purpose. The end of opener “Warsaw” finds Van Etten repeating “I want to be over you” but it sounds less like a lament and more a steadfast statement of intent. “Give Out” has Van Etten openly and carefully grappling with her confidence issues, her ability to stick to her guns. It’s a refreshing subject choice, an open acknowledgment of why it’s hard to move on that’s not just focused on the relative merits of the other party.

Couple those two with first single “Serpents”, and you have a hell of a starting line up for an album that unfortunately stumbles in its midsection. It’s not that any song is actually bad (though the directionless “In Line” comes close) but more that, lacking some polish, trim, and discretion, they rob the album of the hard won momentum and force of will it develops on its front half. You can even hear the difference in her voice, a formidable weapon, as it combs through the comparatively weaker tracks, directionless where elsewhere it is forceful, husky, weathered and full of personality. Luckily, by the end she’s found her way back, with the elegiac “I’m Wrong” and the quiet closer “Joke or a Lie.” Overall, it remains (as to be expected) a bracingly personal release, full of detail that, though ostensibly they mean nothing to the listener, are packed with emotion and significance. The end of something, especially something that’s defined your artistic career up to that point, can be difficult to work through, hard to encapsulate. Tramp, for the most part, is successful.

- Whole Milk