Sharon Van Etten shares emotive new single ‘Close To You’, co-written by Courtney Barnett
Sharon Van Etten has released an emotional new single ‘Close To You’, co-written by Courtney Barnett.
The new track was written for the new Apple TV+ series The Buccaneers, which premieres on November 8. The soundtrack reportedly consists of an all-female lineup produced by Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint and featuring Lucius, Gracie Abrams, and Miya Folick.
On Instagram, Van Etten said of the song: “It was really an inspiring time to get to write a song with my dear friend Courtney and bring it to life with our fellow cohorts Zach Dawes [The Last Shadow Puppets bassist] and Stella Mozgawa for the show Buccaneers airing very soon,” she wrote. “I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.”
Back in 2021, Barnett teamed up with Vagabon to cover Van Etten’s ‘Don’t Do It’. In response, Van Etten took to Instagram to talk about her admiration for Barnett.
“Courtney Barnett has been an important musical influence on me since 2014, when we first met at The Neptune theater in Seattle,” she began. “From the first time we met, I felt like I made an immediate friend. From performing together, to having home hangs in between tours, commiserating with the very specific mixed feelings of tour life assimilating back to home life and figuring out the in between as we have been learning how to nurture our domestic lives while paying attention to our creative selves outside of the album and touring cycle.”
“I admire Courtney’s writing style in that she has such a unique and intimate narrative approach while being personal and funny, without giving too much away,” she continued. “I feel connected to her music and perspective, while always wanting to learn more – and as a friend she has offered me guidance and advice while also being an ear when I have been in a rut or when I am in need of a new approach to look at my writing in a new way.”
Van Etten recently announced the reissue of 2012’s ‘Tramp’, her critically-acclaimed debut album. The musician also shared a previously unseen music video for ‘Serpents’, saying: “At the time, I didn’t have much experience with music videos. I was very insecure about being the focus of a video. Maybe I wasn’t ready to face my demons.
“I know it sounds funny. I could write and perform them, but facing them and baring my soul on camera felt like an entirely different thing, and when I looked at myself, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I chose not to release the video.”
The singer also spoke to NME last year about writing her album ‘We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong’ during the pandemic.
She said at the time: “All my songs are written through a period of time, and this is the most specific time I’ve made a record where it’s a collective trauma we’re experiencing. I always struggle with being overly political in my music, because what gets a song out of my head and heart onto a page is coming from an emotionally raw space.”
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Alex Rigotti
NME
