Sharon Van Etten, The Attachment Theory – Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory (Amber Galaxy Marble Vinyl)

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory's Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory marks a real shift for Van Etten: her seventh album overall, and the first she wrote and recorded in full collaboration with her band. The Attachment Theory name first appeared at European shows in summer 2024, and that new setup feeds directly into the record's character. The familiar Sharon Van Etten themes are here - love, self-understanding, living with uncertainty - but the sound is sharper, darker and more electronic.

What makes this album stand out in her catalogue is that sense of release. The songs were built with the band rather than around a finished solo vision, and the result is looser, wilder and less inhibited than the version of Van Etten many listeners first met on her earlier records. Producer Marta Salogni, known for work with Bjork, Bon Iver and Animal Collective, adds a crucial textural edge through synths and electronics, giving the album a cool, glassy surface without losing the emotional pull at its centre.

You can hear that balance in tracks such as “Somethin' Ain't Right,” which leans into a moody but infectious pulse, and “Fading Beauty,” which opens almost in a whisper before Van Etten's voice slowly takes hold. It feels like a deliberate new chapter rather than a side step: still unmistakably hers, but framed as a band record with a broader palette and a more unsettled, nocturnal energy.

Features

• Amber Galaxy Marble Vinyl
• Gatefold cover

Reviews

• a stormy, unsettled album centered on groove and mood - Pitchfork
• What comes before that ending feels bold and fresh - The Guardian