Sharon van Etten resolves the enormous potential of her new band in Paradiso

There is a lot to be enthusiastic about a sold -out Paradiso, Saturday night. The new band around Sharon van Etten, The Attachment Theory, is in blood form. One moment they spread a gothic blanket of sound, with layers of dark glittering synthesizers a la the cure. Then again they switch to a groove, and the American indie rock singer dances wild and grinning around her bandmates. At highlight 'Somethin' Ain't Right ', it turns out that a simple repetitive Terry Riley-like organ is enough to make Paradiso smell. « The same that it ever was! » She winks at Talking Heads.

And then there is the bass player, perhaps the star of the evening. With a handbag she comes on stage, wallpapered with silver chains, and then lay bass lines that contain at least as many good melodies and hooks as in the vocals of the front woman. With such a group of musicians, a beautiful new album that came out in February (Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory) Except for a few songs, and another handful of Greatest hits from Ettenens now large repertoire, everything is present for such an evening where everything falls into place.

Disappointment

It is so close to it, and yet after 75 minutes something of slight disappointment remains. Weird, because new songs such as 'Idiot Box' and 'Afterlife' appear to make even more impact live than on the record. And 'Seventeen', perhaps the biggest 'hit' by Van Etten, also turns out to be a Brul-Anthem tonight. Especially when she falls on her knees and spits the words out in the face of a fan.

But every instrumental detail sounds so good, she is so bad for most of the set itself. In an ecstatic moment the band shoots in a higher gear, but the singing finally drops a few couplets. It will ensure that when her voice slowly pops up again, it feels like a treat. At other times you see the lungs scream from her body, but you hardly hear her rise above the music. Only when she has stopped the show after a misplaced upset in the audience, a slider seems to be converted somewhere and her singing falls better in the mix. But then practically all the songs of her new album have already been played, which have never been able to live up to their enormous potential. For example, a small technical defect suddenly makes the difference between a beautiful and unforgettable evening.

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