Indie-folk musician Sharon Van Etten has announced a new album, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, set to release on May 6th. The album will be Van Etten’s sixth studio album, following the successful Remind Me Tomorrow (2019). The new album will not contain her latest singles, “Porta” or “Used To It.”  

According to a press statement, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong highlights the questions that arise within us when we think the world—especially our personal one—is ending. Much of the new album was strung together from experiences of loss, growth, and transformation, and the terror that those experiences ignite within us. The result is a meditative album through which Van Etten encourages deep reflection and introspection in the souls of her listeners.

Sharon Van Etten’s 2022 singles, “Porta” and “Used To It” will not be present on the album. The singer says those singles are separate projects, and she “wanted to approach this release differently, to engage my fans in an intentional way, in an effort to present the album as a whole body of work.”

Like an engrossing novel, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is meant to be listened to in chronological order, start to finish, so that Van Etten’s journey of loss, hope, and resilience can be experienced fully. Even the album’s cover art is synonymous with Sharon Van Etten’s journey from one part of her life to another. About the cover art, she says, “I wanted to convey that in an image with me walking away from it all” and being “not necessarily brave, not necessarily sad, not necessarily happy.” [sic]

With We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, Sharon Van Etten shares the darkness that mirrors the light in our lives. As she moves from one era to another within her own life and experiences, she will no doubt capture the heart of her fans in her usual, uncanny way. Her voice is a sultry, soothing kind that warms us to her as we crawl out of our own dark places and into the light.  

‘We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong’ will be released on May 6th and is available for pre-order. Sharon Van Etten will perform southern dates with Mia Joy before going on her European Darkness Fades Tour. Van Etten will then embark on The Wild Hearts Tour with Angel Olsen, Julien Baker, and Spencer. For tour dates, go to Sharon Van Etten’s official site.

Cover photo courtesy of Pitch Perfect PR. Taken by Michael Schmelling.