Sharon Van Etten, 34, is from New Jersey, the daughter of a history teacher and computer programmer who both adored music. She started writing her own while dating someone who constantly criticised her playing and singing; she ended up moving to Tennessee to escape him, and wrote her first three albums about him (2009’s Because I Was in Love, 2010’s Epic and 2012’s Tramp). She followed 2014’s self-produced career-high LP Are We There with a new EP, I Don’t Want To Let You Down, and is currently on a UK tour.
The song that follows me, always
Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers (1965)
I still can’t get over how beautiful this song is. It’s so cathartic, argh! [laughs] I first heard it as a kid when my parents played it in the car. I knew it was emotional but I didn’t understand how, even when I’d learned the lyrics… that happens when you’re little, doesn’t it? It came back into my life through [the 1990 film] Ghost, by which time I was growing up. I’d be like, “Ahh, a man singing about unrequited love.” When I hear it now I get lost in its melody, which is constantly changing, going places. I try to write like that too – a song is not special to me if it doesn’t move.
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The song that brought me and my mum together
Passionate Kisses by Mary Chapin Carpenter (1993)
In my teenage years there was a lot of angst going on. I was boy-crazy, always fighting my mom, then this would come on and we’d forget, and start to sing. I love how music can bring people together, just by coming on the radio like that. Mom and Dad would always take me to gigs back then too – Bruce Springsteen, the Kinks, Jethro Tull – and Dad’s coming to Dublin to see me play. They think it’s hilarious I’m doing well now. I mean, they’re proud of me, but what decent parent would encourage you to go into music? Yeah, drop out, Sharon, move away, sing, that sounds sensible. So far, so good, Dad!
The song of my teenage years
It’s a Shame About Ray by The Lemonheads (1992)
Sometimes music should just be about you sitting on your bedroom floor, or in the back of the car, singing along stupidly. Evan Dando’s music was all about that for me. He was my crush as a teenager, and I was such a fangirl – I queued up for a signing of his once but I was so excited, I didn’t have anything for him to sign. It’s very innocent music, about being in love, hanging out with your friends, doing your own thing… it’s relatable, simple. I try to follow that. And the production of his records… you could always hear the whole band. You should always hear the whole band!
The song that made me think differently about singing
My friend Paul played me this when I was in college, and it just killed me. It was so different, so minimal, and their voices together [Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker] were just beautiful. I’d sung in a choir, and always loved harmony, but this was something else – the harmonies were kind of weird, but added so much to the song. I tried to cover this at one of my early open-mic nights and totally chickened out. This song takes me back to the time I was moving away from home, and how strange that felt.
The song I play before leaving to tour
And No More Shall We Part by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2001)
The Bad Seeds took me a long time [to get in to], because I started on the wrong record, [1984’s] From Her to Eternity. I wasn’t ready. Eventually I got [1997’s] The Boatman’s Call, then went from there to this, then to Grinderman, and then I got it. Their melodies! And Nick Cave is such a good writer. This song sounds very dark when it starts, then becomes really optimistic; it’s like two songs in one – you go with it. When I have mixed feelings about touring, this goes on.
The song that makes me want to write now
Into the Dunes by Noveller (2015)
Noveller make soundscapes that are creepy, ethereal, really beautiful and all over the place. They can be intense, dark and groovy but also dreamlike and happy. I sit down with this track and just want to write, draw, sing, get out my guitar. That’s what music should do, and how it should be.
Sharon Van Etten plays Brudenell club, Leeds tonight; Sage, Gateshead tomorrow and Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London on Weds. I Don’t Want To Let You Down is out on 9 June
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