Sharon Van Etten: A Love Song For Everyone

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Sharon Van Etten lets a troubled past lay the groundwork for a tiny mantra to live by: "Love More."

Courtesy of the artist

Sharon Van Etten lets a troubled past lay the groundwork for a tiny mantra to live by: "Love More."

Courtesy of the artist

Some love songs celebrate huge emotions — the gale-force power of a romance propelled by intense desire. Others locate small moments and allow them to stand in for love's many ambiguities. Sharon Van Etten is typically a master of the latter: In "Much More Than That," for example, she chronicles a series of small gestures, until it becomes clear that she's declaring her affections by laying every insecurity bare.

"Love More" works in similarly slow motion, but with an uncharacteristically bold and dramatic statement attached: As the song progresses, she lets a bleak and troubled past lay the groundwork for a tiny mantra to live by. After sketching out vague references to a dehumanizing relationship — "You chained me like a dog in our room" — Van Etten turns, subtly but unmistakably, to the way pain, loss and a caring support network can make us better, stronger, more loving people.

Listening to the first two minutes of "Love More," it's hard to imagine that the song will soon evolve into a rebuttal against self-pity, and into an ode to loving fearlessly, growing from failure and leaning on others. If the song's only message were to "love more," that'd probably suffice, but Van Etten takes the time to say much more than that, and in stunning fashion.