Sharon Van Etten doesn’t do things halfway. Some musicians take a little time off between albums. Sharon? She went full existential crisis. "I questioned what music meant to me and what role it was playing in my life," she says. While most artists hit pause for a “creative reset,” she went to grad school for psychology, starred in The OA, popped up in Twin Peaks, became a parent, and—just for kicks—scored a film.
All of this led to Remind Me Tomorrow, a record she describes as the result of needing to approach songwriting from a different perspective. "I realized my career was depending on these moments of hardship," she admits. "And that was making me sick." You can only lean into the heartbreak-as-content pipeline for so long before it starts to eat at you. So, naturally, she thought about quitting music altogether.
Spoiler: she didn’t.
Instead, she found herself in a creative space filled with synths—ones that belonged to, of all people, Michael Cera. “I was sharing a space with him, and he had these amazing keyboards hanging around. A CX-3 organ. A Jupiter-4 synth,” she recalls. This, plus some late-night songwriting sessions while her newborn son slept, led to the album’s moody, cinematic feel. Which, to be fair, fits right in with the whole Twin Peaks and The OA connection. "I think I felt encouraged by the worlds I was suddenly in," she says.
Despite all the changes, the core of her songwriting remains the same. Take “Comeback Kid,” a title so conveniently appropriate for a return after a long hiatus that her publicist probably sent a fruit basket. "That song is really about how no matter how old you are, no matter what you've accomplished, you're always going to be the kid coming back home," she explains. It’s a universal feeling: returning to old neighborhoods, running into people you haven’t seen since high school, reliving dumb mistakes your family refuses to let die.
Then there's Seventeen, a track that manages to be both nostalgic and vaguely accusatory. "Am I talking to a younger kid moving into my old neighborhood, or am I reflecting on who I used to be?" she asks. “I still ask myself that.” Of course, all of this is layered over music that leans into the beauty of darkness. If you’ve ever wanted a Sharon Van Etten album that sounds like it belongs in a David Lynch fever dream, congratulations.
Still, the biggest shift might be in how she sees herself in the long run. "I'm nearing 40, and it’s good to think about the long term,” she says. “If I see myself in a van at 50? I don’t know.” That’s what the psychology degree is for. But for now? She’s making some of the best music of her career. Just don’t expect a peppy pop album about motherhood anytime soon. "I’m in a good place," she says. "But I can't not acknowledge the weight."
And that weight? It sounds pretty damn great.
And here's an interview with Sharon and Kyle from 2014:
