Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory announce new album, share new song “Afterlife”

Singer and songwriter Sharon Van Etten has returned, and this time, she’s got company: Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory have announced their self-titled debut album, out February 7th via Jagjaguwar, and revealed a new song “Afterlife.”

While the new album serves as the quartet’s debut, Van Etten has been playing with The Attachment Theory — members of her backing band — for several years. The Attachment Theory is comprised of musicians Jorge Balbi (drums, machines), Devra Hoff (bass, vocals), and Teeny Lieberson (synth, piano, guitar, vocals); the collaborative album came about when Van Etten invited her band members into her creative process for the first time.

“For the first time in my life I asked the band if we could just jam. Words that have never come out of my mouth – ever! But I loved all the sounds we were getting. I was curious – what would happen?,” Van Etten said in a press release. After a few months of writing, the quartet recorded the album with producer Marta Salogni (Björk, Depeche Mode, Bon Iver, English Teacher) at Eurythmics’ former studio, The Church, in North London.

The group has previewed the album with lead single “Afterlife,” which builds upon some of the synth-laden sounds found in Van Etten’s stunning 2022 album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong. “All these expectations turned me inside out,” Van Etten croons in the chorus with accompanying harmonies from Hoff and Lieberson; Van Etten repeatedly asks if the subject will join her in the afterlife, and eventually, the track’s bubbling, arpeggiated synths swell to a climax. Stream “Afterlife” below.

The band is supporting the release of Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory with a short run of UK/EU shows in the spring of 2025. Nabihah Iqbal will open each date; see the tour dates below and get tickets for their shows across the pond here.

In our 2022 interview with her, Van Etten alluded to the idea that she’d want to make a formal album with her band. “It took me years before I found a band like I have now, so now I want to write with my band! I’ve never really done that before,” she told Consequence.

“My band always changes iterations, depending on their side projects and how much time I have off in between, and I can’t afford to keep people on retainer, so people come and go at their own lives and their own work. I’ve finally found this band that I just want to write with all the time, record with all the time. I want to learn how to jam and let go in a room because I tend to write by myself and throw ideas to the wall without fearing judgment.” It’s safe to say that two years later, that mission has been accomplished.

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory arrives everywhere on February 7th.

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory Album Artwork:

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