Sharon Van Etten gives us some background to her highly personal tales of failed relationships.
Following the fiery end of a controlling relationship in Tennessee - Sharon Van Etten moved to New York City to pursue music. There she fell in with Brooklyn-based indie bands TV On The Radio and The National. She worked quietly on demos while learning about the music industry as a publicist for Ba Da Bing records, which - amongst other things - releases obscurities by The Dead C and Hamish Kilgour.
She's now released four records, which mainly chronicle failed love affairs. In the country to play shows over the past few days, Van Etten and bandmate Heather Woods Broderick stopped by the Radio New Zealand studios to play some songs and talk about them with Kirsten Johnstone.