Ranging from elysian songs to grumbling alt-rock numbers, surging with dark forces, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong delivers an incredibly impressive listening experience.
There’s a certain catharsis to much of the album that never ceases to be immensely satisfying, like she’s constantly jettisoning the dregs of what she no longer needs, and embracing that which makes her stronger, with a keen sense of emotional honesty and clarity.
In essence, it plays as a retrospective look back at Van Etten's journey through the musical landscape and the emotional arc which accompanied it, without ever feeling like a self-congratulatory greatest hits exercise.
Sharon Van Etten grapples with love and parenthood in pandemic times in the ten deeply felt songs on We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong.
We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is very cohesive and every track doesn’t come off like it’s just filler material.
Van Etten isn't wallowing in melancholy, she's accepting the sadness along with the joy, using both emotions to push into a new stage of life. That sense of optimism, no matter how muted it may sometimes be, gives We've Been Going About This All Wrong an air of unguarded hope.
We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong serves to articulate feelings we have in common, and how the journey of life can be as beautiful as it is terrifying.
On We've Been Going About This All Wrong, she opens those wings and takes to the sky — rather than protect from the elements, it is the elements, moving earth and water and wind through invigorating force.
While she sings of trauma and upheaval, and often emits a tender vulnerability, there’s hope, optimism and resoluteness there too.
The album also covers the elation many of us felt during those moments we realized how lucky we were. Lucky to still have our lives, or love, or our loved ones, or even just a shifted perspective. It’s in those moments of elation that perhaps we felt most seismically that we’ve been going about this all wrong.
It builds a new stoic eloquence into her vulnerability, even if the stark, birdsong-imbued Darkish drips with Radiohead-like ennui.
It may lack the immediacy of 2018’s hookier ‘Remind Me Tomorrow’, but this unyielding record is, at times, a powerful reckoning with the age of uncertainty.
WBGATAW contains Sharon Van Etten's biggest-sounding songs to date, which is maybe to the album's detriment sometimes.
she is remarkably consistent and writes captivating songs. this is as good as anything she has done, and it's a grower. you will need a few times through to appreciate it properly. and it has those astonishing moments of depth and beauty that bring tears to your eyes. how does she do that?
EDIT: bumped it to 100. please listen to this. I mean like listen aggressively. when it clicks you will know.
Starts off insanely promising, but inevitably offers very little in the way of strong songs. It has some horrific production at some moments as well near the end. Overall a very messy and unsatisfying project
Sharon Van Etten usually provide transcendental experiences, well, it wouldn't be different in 'We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong'. In this album not everything is quite clear, perhaps nothing is transparent, better yet, everything is felt equivalent to the deept it has; Philosophical lyrics transform the listening experience into something quite touching, alongside Sharon's stunning voice, which guided my ears to oblivion or maybe somewhere close. These tracks are all very well ... read more
Some of her grandest songs are on this album. It's not one I come back to often, but I still quite enjoy it. Kinda wished Porta wasn't only on the Deluxe version though, cause it's one of my favorite songs of hers.
Darkness Fades — 8.8
Home to Me — 8.3
I’ll Try — 10
Anything — 9.5
Born — 8.6
Headspace — 10
Come Back — 9
Darkish — 7.5
Mistakes — 10
Far Away — 8
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likes: 10/10
overall final score: 89.70
favs: Mistakes • I’ll Try • Headspace • Anything
least fav: Darkish
worst: ✘
skips: ✘
first time listening to this artist, and i loved it!
1 | Darkness Fades 4:33 | 87 |
2 | Home to Me 3:38 | 80 |
3 | I'll Try 3:07 | 82 |
4 | Anything 2:38 | 82 |
5 | Born 5:02 | 85 |
6 | Headspace 4:26 | 86 |
7 | Come Back 4:29 | 84 |
8 | Darkish 4:04 | 77 |
9 | Mistakes 3:59 | 79 |
10 | Far Away 3:19 | 83 |
#2 | / | Sound Opinions: Greg Kot |
#3 | / | MAGNET |
#6 | / | WXPN |
#8 | / | Under the Radar |
#17 | / | Sound Opinions: Jim DeRogatis |
#19 | / | Albumism |
#19 | / | Uncut |
#22 | / | Hot Press |
#25 | / | No Ripcord |
#31 | / | Beats Per Minute |