Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory Tear Through ‘Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)’ On ‘Fallon’

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory swung by 30 Rock last night on the eve of the release of their self-titled debut album for an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The band performed a ripping version of “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like),” a standout cut from the LP.

The eponymous 10-track effort is the first album Van Etten wrote and recorded in full collaboration with her band — bassist Devra Hoff, drummer Jorge Balbi and multi-instrumentalist Teeny Lieberson. Marta Salogni produced Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, which was recorded at Eurythmics’ former studio, The Church.

Sharon Van Etten said “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)” is about “trying to understand people with very different perspectives and backgrounds, while also trying to be compassionate towards our past, present, and future selves.” The song was penned by Van Etten and her band in the desert at Gatos Trail in Southern California’s Yucca Valley.

The group developed “Southern Life” out of an improvisation following a rehearsal for the We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong tour. “After days of rehearsing the songs from the album and how to execute them live, I was getting tired of hearing myself. I didn’t want to over rehearse the songs to death. And so, for the first time ever, I asked if the band just wanted to ‘jam,’ play without it having to be something, to clear our heads,” Van Etten said.

Watch Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory perform “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)” on Fallon:

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory will soon head to Europe and the UK for a series of dates. A spring tour of North America starts on April 24 in Atlanta and runs through May 21.