Kevin Bronson on February 1st, 2012

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Lost (at least for a second) in all the recent clamor about whether that “Video Games” girl is the genuine item was the fact that Sharon Van Etten’s new album is on the horizon. “Tramp” is out next week (on Jagjaguwar), and the New York songstress’s third album finds her both tying her demons into knots and exposing the frayed edges the rope she’s used to do so. Whether meting out plaintive ballads or spitting out aggressive rockers, Van Etten’s woozy vocals belie the gravity and forthrightness of her confessionals. Just gorgeous.

||| Download: “Serpents”

||| Also: Stream “Tramp” in its entirety via NPR.

||| Live: Sharon Van Etten plays the Avalon Hollywood on March 20 with the War on Drugs.

Photo by Dusdin Condren