Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
Critic Score
Based on 34 reviews
2012 Ratings: #59 / 1118
Year End Rank: #15
User Score
Based on 292 ratings
2012 Rank: #106
Liked by 38 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Record Collector

Tramp is Van Etten’s third album but, where 2010’s Epic was cautiously understated, this time she’s delivered her defining artistic statement.

100
Spill Magazine

With rare missteps throughout the record, Sharon Van Etten shouldn’t have to worry about what Tramp will do to her reputation. She’ll be just fine.

90
Drowned in Sound

It’s a wonderful record, a colossal achievement, and features some of the most breathtaking, moving and downright beautiful music you’ll hear all year.

90
The 405

It is an album full of passion, beauty, talent and fantastic songs.

90
NME

It has been a joy to see Van Etten growing in confidence as an artist – and this isn’t just her finest album, but one of early 2012’s best.

87
Northern Transmissions
following the various ups and downs portrayed in her songs, Tramp ends with “Joke or a Lie” a heart wrenching song in which Van Etten is at her most raw and exposed, simply beautiful.
85
Beats Per Minute

Tramp is simply her most fully-realized album yet, and that’s all there is to it.

83
Paste

Tramp isn’t a party album. It isn’t an album made for quick digestion or joyous celebration. Its revelations are fixed in that intimacy, that private conversation Van Etten has designed to share with you, and you alone.

83
A.V. Club

Tramp is Van Etten’s most confident-sounding album to date, pushing at the boundaries of her music and suggesting a turn away from the romantic wound-licking that has dominated her lyrics.

80
The Observer

The producerly hand of the National's Aaron Dessner and cameos by the likes of Beirut's Zach Condon only add to the conclusion that Tramp is one of the must-hears of early 2012.

80
Rolling Stone
Your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend will have this on blast.
80
Spectrum Culture

While it’s refreshing to see Van Etten make a full-blown studio album of “normal” length, there may be something to the more modest approach she took on 2010’s Epic – in other words, Tramp could have been cut down by at least two songs.

80
The Line of Best Fit

It’s to Van Etten’s credit that with Tramp she navigates the narrow corridor between the banal and the cliché-ridden; producing something worth listening to on the well-worn subject of falling in and out of love.

80
Sputnikmusic
A tense and sprawling record that delivers one emotional gut punch after another.
80
Consequence of Sound

Rather deliberately, Van Etten’s best musical traits can be broken into individual categories. As immensely well done and enjoyable as the aforementioned cuts are, they also feel incomplete.

79
Pitchfork

Matters of mistrust, isolation, and uncomfortable togetherness dominate Tramp, rolling through every track like a sick, creeping fog.

70
Under the Radar

Tramp ups the game on both fronts—her songs have a newfound bravado, and her crushing heartache has become tempered with acceptance and understanding.

70
AllMusic

Tramp offers plenty for listeners to enjoy as she goes.

70
PopMatters

Tramp is confirmation that Van Etten is a singular talent in the singer-songwriter world, a voice that commands attention through sheer power and the subtle impact of her words.

70
Tiny Mix Tapes
I really hope to hear a lot more from Sharon Van Etten, but not at the cost of her indie canonization, and I wonder how the music business can sustain such acts otherwise.
60
NOW Magazine
Sometimes the lack of definition and the deluge of words grow tedious, but in these songs, all lushly arranged, as is the entire album, the effect is nothing short of riveting.
60
musicOMH

Some moments here do veer into the more predictable end of indie-rock territory.

depechemode4lif
83

Edit: This has perhaps grown on me a good amount...

Not too bad, I really like her voice and the acoustic folky arrangements on this album. Not every song captured me but it satisfies the indie folk itch I always have. This record makes me want to check out and dive a little deeper into her career since I found this to be a satisfying record.

WilderRecords
90

This album is a pretty special one to me, as it’s the album that introduced me to Sharon Van Etten’s music. In my early twenties when this came out, I was in a pretty overwhelming crossroads in my life, coming straight out of Uni without a clue what I was doing in my life, and trying to navigate the responsibilities that comes with independence. I have to say everytime I played this album it truly grounded me, and ever since then SVE has been one of my absolute favourite and go to ... read more

yognak
75

Favorite Tracks : Warsaw, Give Out, Serpents, Leonard, All I Can, I’m Wrong

Least Favorite Track : In Line

siphus007
80

I can't easily explain why this album is great, but I can try to extract a few sentiments. Despite her vocals that seem to pull her onto a plane above the rest of her music, she provides a ton of vulnerability, need, longing, and hopefulness that creates a strange but compelling dissonance throughout the album. Although she's pouring her heart out in a way, it takes time and multiple listens to feel the full impact of weight of it. She changes the energy just enough to feel vastly different ... read more

91

Tracklist:

1. Warsaw (8)
2. Give Out (10)
3. Serpents (10)
4. Kevin's (9)
5. Leonard (10)
6. In Line (9)
7. All I Can (9)
8. We Are Fine (9)
9. Magic Chords (10)
10. Ask (9)
11. I'm Wrong (8)
12. Joke or a Lie (8)
109/12 = 9.083
Overall Rating:

Really really enjoyed this album. Very similar to phoebe bridgers’ punisher. Feels like a predecessor to that; very dark and sad sounding album. not much instrumental variety but sharon has an amazing voice that feels like it’s own ... read more

81

★★★½ - Warsaw
★★★★★ - Give Out
★★★★★ - Serpents
★★★★½ - Kevin's
★★★★½ - Leonard
★★★★★ - In Line
★★★★ - All I Can
★★★★ - We Are Fine
★★★½ - Magic Chords
★★★½ - Ask
★★★ - I'm Wrong
★★★ - Joke or a Lie

80.833/100
2023/08/11
[83.333]

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Track List

1Warsaw
2:27
77
2Give Out
4:19
96
3Serpents
3:02
97
4Kevin's
4:02
87
5Leonard
3:48
87
6In Line
4:44
91
7All I Can
4:54
87
8We Are Fine
3:49
83
9Magic Chords
3:56
89
10Ask
3:21
80
11I'm Wrong
3:55
77
12Joke or a Lie
4:02
75
Total Length: 46 minutes
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Added on: November 23, 2011