American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten unveiled her 5-track EP I Don’t Want To Let You Down this week, similar to the mould of her 2014 album Are We There. The EP will officially be released on June 9, but can be streamed in full below, thanks to NPR, along with an indepth analysis provided by Van Etten on each track, here are some of the EP’s highlights for us.
The opening and title track starts off with a melodic guitar, drum and organ style sound before we hear Etten’s voice, which has a rough and dusty texture, similar to that of Sky Ferreria’s distinctive sound in the 2013 hit “Sad Dream”. The song itself gives off a sleepy, nostalgic ambience with hints of sadness, but overall it is a very enjoyable piece to listen to, I’d probably say it’s something I would add to my ‘Quiet Sleepy time’ playlist, but I think it could be something that is played on the radio, particularly x-fm’s x-list or x-posure shows.
“Just Like Blood” starts with a soft and sorrow filled piano accompanied by a simple drum beat with the occasional violin that supports her dusty vocals, again creating a sad and soft ambience, the lyrics of this song seem much more heart felt and poetic, perhaps contained a more emotional journey for the singer-songwriter. In this piece, her vocal range becomes similar to that of Florence Welch in her 2011 album, Ceremonials, almost purring her way through the song. With a similar singing style as Lana Del Rey, it almost creates the same futuristic retro sound we all know and love.
Van Etten’s I Don’t Want To Let You Down EP is available for pre-order on iTunes here, she is currently touring the US and will even be performing at Glastonbury at the end of June. I highly recommend you check her out, especially if you enjoy the music of any of the aforementioned artists! Stream the EP in full here.
#Peace.Love.IDontWantToLetYouDown
