​​Sharon Van Etten’s ‘Are We There’ Receiving Reissue Treatment For 10th Anniversary

Sharon Van Etten will issue Are We There (Anniversary Edition) on May 31 via Jagjaguwar in celebration of the 10th anniversary of her 2014 album. Previewing the collection is “Every Time The Sun Comes Up (Alternate Version),” which will also arrive physically via a 7” vinyl on August 23.

Van Etten’s fourth album, Are We There, followed her 2012 breakout record, Tramp. The singer-songwriter and guitarist worked with veteran producer Stewart Lerman on the 2014 LP.

The LP features Van Etten’s band at the time: Doug Keith, Heather Woods Broderick and Zeke Hutchins along with friends Dave Hartley and Adam Granduciel from The War on Drugs, Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater), Jana Hunter (Lower Dens), Peter Broderick, Mackenzie Scott (TORRES), Stuart Bogie, Jacob C. Morris and Mickey Freeze. The late Richard Swift worked with Sharon on the final mix.

Van Etten detailed the sessions and the Are We There era:

“The whole time I was making Are We There, I was commuting to Hobo Sound from an apartment in the city, and I took a train to the bus station and walked from the Lincoln tunnel to the studio in Weehawken, NJ. Making this record, my bandmates (Doug Keith, Heather Woods Broderick, and Zeke Hutchins) quickly became my family, and I realized I sought refuge in the studio. It was where I felt nurtured. It felt like home. I was able to find myself and I feel like that vulnerability and strength was captured through the collaborations on this album. The name of this album represents, for me, a place I departed from but with an acknowledgment that I haven’t yet arrived.”

“Every Time The Sun Comes Up (Alternate Version)” is a reimagining produced by drummer Jorge Balbi and featuring Sharon’s current band: Balbi, guitarist Charley Damski, bassist Devin Hoff and keyboardist Teeny Lieberson.

“This version of ‘Every Time The Sun Comes Up’ developed as the band and I were really honing our sound,” Van Etten said. “We were rehearsing for the We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong Tour, leaning into some of our influences to give the song a more current feel to where we were all creatively at the time. We performed it live and the audience really responded to our new Joy Division-like spin on it. We had the idea to release it to celebrate the Are We There 10-year anniversary and breathe new life into it, which feels like the perfect time.”

Watch the lyric video for “Every Time The Sun Comes Up (Alternate Version)” below.