Sharon Van Etten announces new single ‘Afterlife’, coming next week

Sharon Van Etten has announced a new single called ‘Afterlife’ – check out the teaser clips below.

The New Jersey singer-songwriter began signalling her return last week by sharing a series of posts on social media. She posted two black-and-white images soundtracked by a pulsing synth line.

Later, Van Etten uploaded footage from her intimate show at London’s 100 Club this summer. “Coming soon,” she wrote as the caption.

The musician has now revealed another preview snippet of new material online, confirming a track titled ‘Afterlife’. It is due for release next Wednesday (October 23) – pre-save/pre-add here.

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The forthcoming song is credited as Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory – a moniker that was introduced at her recent gigs. It was given its live debut in London this July.  Check out the posts below.

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Since playing her small gig in the capital – which marked her first live performance in over a year – Van Etten has played a show at The Viper Room in Los Angeles, California and supported Mitski at the Hollywood Bowl.

In a post earlier this month, Van Etten wrote: “I loved every minute of reconnecting with my band and fans and playing two very special shows at The Hollywood Bowl alongside Mitski and The Viper Room, in a more intimate setting.

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“Two very different performances that made my heart miss the stage and being one with the fans again.”

Van Etten released her sixth and latest studio album, ‘We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong’, in May 2022. Last year, she shared ‘Quiet Eyes’ from the Past Lives soundtrack and the Courtney Barnett co-written single ‘Close To You’.

She signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music at the start of this year (via Music Week).

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Last December, Van Etten’s track ‘Quiet Eyes’ was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the Oscars 2024. The award ultimately went to Billie Eilish and Finneas for ‘What Was I Made For?’ from Barbie.

In a review of ‘We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong’NME wrote: “Standout ‘Mistakes’ is Van Etten at her best, its thumping chorus ideal for banishing lockdown-induced rumination on your regrets […]

“Although it lacks the immediacy of 2018’s hookier ‘Remind Me Tomorrow’, this unyielding record is, at times, a powerful reckoning with the age of uncertainty.”

You can revisit a video interview with Sharon Van Etten for NME‘s ‘In Conversation’ series above.