The magnificent Sharon Van Etten is back after an absence, but this time with a new band. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory have just announced their self-titled debut album, out on 7 February 2025 via Jagjaguwar, and released the lead single/video, ‘Afterlife’.
Van Etten says of the new project, that sees her for the first time collaborate with her band — Jorge Balbi (drums, machines), Devra Hoff (bass, vocals), and Teeny Lieberson (synth, piano, guitar, vocals):
It is with great pleasure that I get to announce my new album as Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory. The first time I have ever written songs from the ground up as a band, coming into a room with nothing but an incredible group of musicians and walking away with something so special. It was a great challenge and a life changing experience for me.
Reflecting on this new artistic frame of mind and the art of collectively writing together, Van Etten muses:
Sometimes it’s exciting, sometimes it’s scary, sometimes you feel stuck. It’s like every day feels a little different – just being at peace with whatever you’re feeling and whoever you are and how you relate to people in that moment. If I can just keep a sense of openness while knowing that my feelings change every day, that is all I can do right now. That and try to be the best person I can be while letting other people be who they are and not taking it personally and just being. I’m not there, but I’m trying to be there every day.
This new approach began while rehearsing in the desert for an upcoming tour when Van Etten invited her band into the creative process:
For the first time in my life I asked the band if we could just jam. Words that have never come out of my mouth – ever! But I loved all the sounds we were getting. I was curious – what would happen? In an hour we wrote two songs that ended up becoming ‘I Can’t Imagine’ and ‘Southern Life.’
The first single for the new band, ‘Afterlife’, has an electronic dappling sound with Van Etten’s vocals high and bell-like above the pattering motorik beat. The ear for arching melodies remain with an euphoric chorus: a sound that is angelic and pulse-quickening with a thread of melancholia running through it as Van Etten sings:
Will you see me in the afterlife?/Will you tell me what you think it’s like/Come and tell me it’ll be alright?/Will I see you in the afterlife?
The song’s video, directed by Susu Laroche, collects footage of the band debuting many of the album songs in London’s intimate 100 Club in the midst of recording the album:
‘Afterlife’ is out today and you can download and stream it here.
The self titled album is out on 7 February and you can pre-save it here or through the link below:
Feature Photograph: Devin Oktar Yalkin
