Remind Me Tomorrow is nothing short of a masterpiece, bringing a fresh dimension to what was already a brilliant career, and Sharon Van Etten has evolved over the course of a decade from a folky cult figure into a bona fide rock star: proof that good things really do happen to those who wait.
Throughout Remind Me Tomorrow, she plumbs the depths of contentedness, setting her satisfaction to a sound that's nominally dark yet strangely comforting and nourishing. Even if this album doesn't speak to your specific life, it will nevertheless enrich it.
Sharon Van Etten’s new album is the crown jewel in her peerless catalogue .... By not pulling her punches, Van Etten has seemingly done the impossible – reinvented herself by doubling down on her own artistic tendencies.
Remind Me Tomorrow is not only a reminder of the power of love but also features some of Van Etten's finest work to date.
Even if the material and formula have been heard before, Remind Me Tomorrow feels brand new.
Sharon Van Etten was already one of the great lyricists of the ‘10s, but with this breathtaking new project, she’s proved an artistic pliancy her contemporaries may not possess. She hit her stride with Are We There, but here she’s not even on the ground.
Remind Me Tomorrow stands comfortably alongside Van Etten's finest work but also, excitingly, quite aside from it. Van Etten continues to amaze, move and impress with every move.
Van Etten doesn't have any interest in Remind Me Tomorrow being pretty. Life is gritty and grating and perhaps the most exciting thing this album succeeds in doing is mimicking life.
Anyone looking for tidy narratives won’t find them in Remind Me Tomorrow, as the album isn’t concerned with backstories or motivations. Instead, its 10 songs are much more focused on how their protagonists are dealing right now, in the present, with triumphs, traumas, and new beginnings.
She has never sounded so sensuous as on Jupiter 4, a synth-soaked torch song with fire in its loins, or as carefree as she does on Seventeen, the heavy snare and keyboard stings driving an ode to adolescent abandon.
Releasing her fifth studio album Remind Me Tomorrow, she tests the boundaries with what she can do, and has gone further than she ever imagined.
Remind Me Tomorrow may delve into darker sonic terrain for the artist, what with its whirring and noisy synths, but Van Etten has never sounded as ecstatic as she does on this record, and her already considerable body of work seems poised to get even better.
The atmosphere is doomy and gothic, creating an underlying tension that casts her lyrics of devotion and self-forgiveness in a shadowy light. It’s as if she can’t quite commit to her own happiness.
Returning to her songcraft after marking off epochal moments in her personal life, Remind Me Tomorrow pops with vibrancy on a record that makes Van Etten’s voice feel more alive and present than ever.
Remind Me Tomorrow feels full to the brim, flooded to the top with experimental colour and texture, drones and drums and synthesizers.
Her fantastic new album, Remind Me Tomorrow, ups her ambitions even further, pushing toward a grand, smoldering vision of pop that can bring to mind Lana Del Rey and St. Vincent ... and the New Wave warrior-queen spirit of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O.
Many of Sharon Van Etten’s fans may be disappointed by the lack of sadness and darkness on Remind Me Tomorrow, and while there are still elements of both in the album’s undertones, there’s more of a hopefulness and sense of promise that suits her just as well.
Remind Me Tomorrow isn’t only a return to her calling, but a grand surprise. Sharon Van Etten has finally, truly, embraced just how appealing her unique voice can be.
Sharon Van Etten's Remind Me Tomorrow bucks expectations and her previously visceral songwriting tone for something more reflective, exploratory, and ultimately more impactful.
Remind Me Tomorrow is a little all over the place in terms of style and pacing, but is nevertheless another solid set of songs from Sharon Van Etten.
Remind Me Tomorrow is the sound of a musician exploring new directions. We did not expect Sharon Van Etten to make an album with bass-heavy, dance-punk music, but we are better off because of it.
Remind Me Tomorrow isn’t as consistently captivating as Tramp or Are We There, but it’s nonetheless a delightful return, one that gives us a new (pleasingly less traumatic) window into Van Etten’s world.
In a day with so many big releases, it's almost easy to forget Sharon Van Etten even released an album today, that is until you listen to this beautiful thing. This album is one of, if not the best pop albums of the decade, and a strong early AOTY contender. I love pretty much everything about this album, and i'm extremely happy that this is one of the albums we open this year with. I'll tell you right now, this is a high bar she set for albums for the rest of the year, and i can say that this ... read more
Eh. It's fine. Good production and interesting lyrics. Just not for me. Bit too safe for me. Very Bowie inspired I suppose.
...Yeah, I got nothing. This is ok.
Favorite Jams: Comeback Kid, Seventeen, You Shadow
Lest Favorite: I Told You Everything
(For further thoughts, see my Stella Donnelly review)
A brilliant singer-songwriter taken to darker, grander, and synthier places than her previous albums with the help of John Congleton (Angel Olsen's All Mirrors, St. Vincent from Actor to S/T). Breakout track "Seventeen" is peak Springsteen and true to her New Jersey roots, and it's on my shortlist of best songs ever (although the punchy chorus of "Hands" has consistently been my favorite live).
It's less lyrically intense than prior albums like Are We There and Epic, but ... read more
1 | I Told You Everything 4:45 | 76 |
2 | No One's Easy to Love 4:34 | 85 |
3 | Memorial Day 4:27 | 79 |
4 | Comeback Kid 3:02 | 87 |
5 | Jupiter 4 5:14 | 85 |
6 | Seventeen 4:25 | 94 |
7 | Malibu 3:23 | 81 |
8 | You Shadow 3:14 | 78 |
9 | Hands 4:08 | 83 |
10 | Stay 4:00 | 76 |
#1 | / | Fopp |
#2 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#3 | / | BrooklynVegan |
#3 | / | No Ripcord |
#3 | / | Paste |
#4 | / | Far Out Magazine |
#4 | / | The Guardian |
#5 | / | Chicago Tribune: Greg Kot |
#6 | / | Gothamist |
#6 | / | NPR Music |