Come Up With These Truths Instead

Sharon Van Etten “Kevin’s”

“Kevin’s” conveys a lot of warmth and empathy, but there’s a touch of tough love to it, particularly as Van Etten sings the line “buried in masculine pain all the time.” When she puts it that way, his experience seems alien – something that she wants to understand, probably, but also something that obviously frightens her. It sounds like she’s trying to help someone out of their own traps, but doesn’t quite understand how the traps got there. The music sounds like a lifeline, but her vocal performance indicates that she’s pulling him up, but isn’t quite on solid ground herself.

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