The pursuit of happiness

Sharon Van Etten’s new album, she tells Tony Clayton-Lea, is shaped by course-altering events in her personal life and a newfound communication with her fanbase

Sharon Van Etten: ‘I was a real 1990s kid’ Pic: Ryan Pfluger

Life can catch you by surprise sometimes. Just when you’re running along with hardly a care in the world, someone else’s foot kicks you in a different direction. As much as life can change before we realise it, however, there is something innate that brings us back on track. New York City-based Sharon Van Etten is living proof of this.

Van Etten picks up the conversational thread as she walks through an airport ...