Anika recommends: Sharon Van Etten

Who? A talented young singer songwriter from Brooklyn with a voice worthy of your complete undivided attention. Has performed with many other artists, including Matteah Baim, Meg Baird, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Jana Hunter and Phosphorescent. She also lends her voice to The Antlers on their New York Hospitals EP and 2009 release Hospice.

Why? There’s a pretty deep sea of wonderful musicians from Brooklyn, it would be easy to let a gem like Sharon slip through the net. But this would be a huge loss. Her self-released Home Recordings CD is fuzzy and lo-fi but gloriously intimate, like Sharon is whispering her songs straight into your ears.

Listen: For You, from the Home Recordings CD. A simple, but nonetheless wonderful, song made brilliant by a catchy guitar riff and Sharon’s hauntingly beautiful voice.

Watch: For You

Visit: Myspace

What next? Sharon’s first official full-length album comes out May this year on Language of Stone/Heron Recordings. The album, Because I Was In Love, was recorded in Philadelphia with Greg Weeks.



Anika Mottershaw
runs music blog Anika in London

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