New Sharon Van Etten Track: "Serpents"

One of the more recent NYC-based artists garnering attention is New Jersey-born indie folk songstress Sharon Van Etten.

I saw Sharon live at Zulu Records many, many months ago for an acoustic solo in-store performance, and while I liked her set, she didn't sound overly interesting. "Serpents," the first available track from her upcoming third album Tramp, due February 7 on Jagjaguwar, is quite different from what I heard that day at Zulu though.

It's pretty obvious to myself that I like "Serpents" because it features members of two of my favourite bands the National and the Walkmen. Tramp was recorded by the National's Aaron Dessner who recruited several friends to guest on the album including members of Beirut, Wye Oak (one of two openers for the National's Vancouver shows next week), Shearwater and the aforementioned Walkmen. Sharon's dramatic Cat Power-like vocals (about a 99% resemblance to me) and instrumentation by members of two of my favourite bands make for a good enough combination for me to check out at least Tramp and, if I like it, work my way backwards in her discography.

Addendum: If Tramp is good, I'll also have a reason to stick around after the War on Drugs' set when they play the Biltmore Cabaret on March 24. I'd pay the $15 that show costs to see the War on Drugs alone; a good album by Sharon Van Etten would only sweeten the deal.