Epic

Brooklyn-based Sharon Van Etten opens her second album with just her voice and acoustic guitar on the stark and striking “A Crime”. After that song’s restricted palette and personal lyrics, Van Etten pursues noticeably wider horizons: Observe the country-style steel guitar shading “Save Yourself” or the groggy keyboard seance underpinning “DsharpG”, later sampled by Bon Iver. The connective tissue between it all is her grounded delivery, which commands just as much attention whether she’s hewing closer to bare-bones folk or anthemic indie rock.