Kirstie Shanley Loves Sharon Van Etten at Pitchfork

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: July 16th, 2010 | 12:00am

Do you ever feel like this world has too much clutter and overstimulation? We're constantly being bombarded with information we don't need, from every direction: 24 hour news, Facebook status updates, iPhone apps.

Musically, bands are starting to become increasingly busy, with entourages dumping multiple instruments in piles up on the stage. While samples and pedal effects can cascade together as nicely as anything else, Sharon Van Etten takes a different approach.

As a minimalist, it's difficult to captivate an audience in the age of Twitter, but Van Etten is most riveting when her stripped-down feelings emote just as perfectly as an early Joni Mitchell track. She sings it like she means, it and her sincerity is comforting.

Be prepared for the disarming and honest Sharon Van Etten, free of all pretense and complication.

Sharon Van Etten performs at 3:30 p.m. at the A stage

Kirstie Shanley is a Venus Zine photographer.