Intimate and hushed, Sharon Van Etten's folk tunes tend to quiet any room she plays them in. These are the type of nuanced songs that can render a crowd breathless.
Van Etten was introduced to an eclectic blend of folk and rock 'n' roll while growing up in Nashville. She worked her way to Brooklyn, and after a national tour in support of her debut album, Because I Was In Love, she turned to Epic, a seven-song LP that was one of NPR Music's favorite records of 2010.
Lined with melancholic heartbreak, Van Etten bears it all — the betrayal, the obsession, and everything that comes along with collapsed romances. But where there is dark, there is also light, and she is not afraid to demonstrate her hopeful side. Epic is definitely an album beaming with learned experiences and growth, leaving every listener with something to take away.
With guitar in hand, she was this year's first featured artist in the Shaking Through music series from WXPN and the non-profit Philadelphia organization Weathervane Music. It was there that she recorded "Love More," the moving finale to Epic.
This World Cafe segment originally aired Dec. 21, 2010.
Copyright 2011 XPN