We've Been Going About This All Wrong

We've Been Going About This All Wrong
A photo of the artist stood in a street in front of a one-story house, with the overcast sky recolored red and orange and the wet street reflecting the red.
Studio album by
Sharon Van Etten
ReleasedMay 6, 2022 (2022-05-06)
GenreIndie rock[1]
Length39:20
LabelJagjaguwar
Producer
  • Sharon Van Etten
  • Daniel Knowles
Sharon Van Etten chronology
Remind Me Tomorrow
(2019) 		We've Been Going About This All Wrong
(2022)
Singles from We've Been Going About This All Wrong
  1. "Porta"
    Released: February 8, 2022
  2. "Used to It"
    Released: March 1, 2022
  3. "Mistakes"
    Released: May 9, 2022
  4. "Headspace"
    Released: July 7, 2022
  5. "Never Gonna Change"
    Released: October 6, 2022
  6. "When I Die"
    Released: November 11, 2022

We've Been Going About This All Wrong is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, released on May 6, 2022, by Jagjaguwar. Van Etten wrote the whole album herself, and produced it with Daniel Knowles. The indie rock album was preceded by four singles. It was critically acclaimed and appeared on several year-end lists, and charted in several countries. A deluxe version of the album was released on November 11, with two more singles ahead of it.

Release

We've Been Going About This All Wrong was released on May 6, 2022, by Jagjaguwar.[2][3] Four singles were released prior to the album's release. "Mistakes", which was released May 9, 2022;[4] and "Headspace", which was released July 7;[5] were both included on the original album. "Porta", released February 8;[6] and "Used to It", released March 1;[7] were originally released as standalone singles before being announced as part of the deluxe edition on October 6. "Never Gonna Change" was released as a single the same day as the deluxe announcement,[8] and "When I Die" released the same day as the deluxe album's release on November 11.[9]

Music videos were released for the first four singles. The video for "Mistakes" shows Van Etten wandering around Brooklyn, meeting friends and dancing in the street.[4] The "Porta" video depicts Van Etten practicing pilates and was inspired by Van Etten's friendship with North Carolina pilates instructor Stella Cook.[6] The "Headspace" video was directed by Ashley Connor and depicts Van Etten taking cellphones away from a couple portrayed by dancers Coco Karol and Miguel Angel Guzmán and encouraging them to embrace each other.[5] The video for "Used to It" features Van Etten dancing with choreographer Hayden J. Frederick, and was directed by Van Etten's musical director and bandmate Charley Damski.[7]

The album is named after a line of dialogue in the 1993 movie The Sandlot, a movie Van Etten says she has watched "probably ... 100 times" with her son.[10]

Reception

We've Been Going About This All Wrong ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[11]
Metacritic80/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute88%[13]
Exclaim!8/10[14]
The Guardian[1]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[15]
NME[3]
Paste8.4/10[16]
Pitchfork7.8/10[17]
PopMatters8/10[2]
Rolling Stone[18]
Under the Radar[19]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, We've Been Going About This All Wrong received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 19 critic scores.[12]

Year-end lists

We've Been Going About This All Wrong on year-end lists
Publication # Ref.
BrooklynVegan 39 [20]
Consequence of Sound 47 [21]
Exclaim! 43 [22]
Mondo Sonoro 45 [23]
Paste 46 [24]
PopMatters 61 [25]
Sound Opinions
(Jim DeRogatis) 		17 [26]
Sound Opinions
(Greg Kot) 		2 [26]
Uncut 19 [27]
Under the Radar 8 [28]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sharon Van Etten

We've Been Going About This All Wrong track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Darkness Fades"4:34
2."Home to Me"3:39
3."I'll Try"3:08
4."Anything"2:38
5."Born"5:02
6."Headspace"4:26
7."Come Back"4:30
8."Darkish"4:05
9."Mistakes"3:59
10."Far Away"3:19
Total length:39:20
We've Been Going About This All Wrong (Deluxe Edition) track listing
No.TitleLength
11."Never Gonna Change"3:39
12."Porta"3:26
13."Used to It"4:31
14."When I Die"4:45
Total length:55:40

Personnel

Musicians

  • Sharon Van Etten – vocals, keyboards (3, 5–7, 9, 10), guitar (1, 5, 8), drums (2–5), synthesizer (1, 2), tambourine (1, 4), piano (2, 5), organ (5, 7)
  • Jorge Balbi – drums (1–3, 5–7, 9, 10), percussion (6)
  • Charley Damski – synthesizer (1–3, 5–7, 9, 10), guitar (3–6, 9, 10), glockenspiel (1)
  • Devin Hoff – guitar (1–7, 9, 10)
  • Jay Bellerose – drums (2, 5, 7)
  • Benji Lysaght – guitar (2, 7)
  • Zachary Dawes – guitar (2, 5)
  • Daniel Knowles – bass (1), percussion (5)
  • Owen Pallett – strings (5)
  • Dave Palmer – piano (7)

Technical

  • Sharon Van Etten – recording engineer (2–7, 9, 10)
  • Daniel Knowles – recording engineer (1–3, 5-10), programming (1, 5)
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering engineer
  • Beatriz Artola – mixing engineer
  • Mike Piersante – recording engineer (2, 5, 7)
  • Jorge Balbi – programming (6, 9)

Charts

Chart performance for We've Been Going About This All Wrong
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 48
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 102
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[31] 169
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 52
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 22
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[34] 26
Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 88
UK Albums (OCC)[37] 28
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[38] 5
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[39] 10
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[40] 3
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[41] 7

References

  1. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (May 8, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten: We've Been Going About This All Wrong review – mid-paced candour". The Guardian. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Ingalls, Chris (May 6, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten Carries the Weight of the World on We've Been Going About This All Wrong". PopMatters. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Bassett, Jordan (May 5, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten - We've Been Going About This All Wrong review: fear and loving in lockdown". NME. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Richards, Will (May 9, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten wanders around Brooklyn in cinematic new "Mistakes" video". NME. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Farrell, Margarte (July 7, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten Gets Lost in the Static in Her Surreal New Video for "Headspace"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Colón, Izzy (February 8, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten Shares New Single and Video for "Porta"". Spin. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Russell, Scott (March 1, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten Shares Another New Single, "Used to It"". Paste. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  8. ^ Rose, Anna (October 6, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten shares new song Never Gonna Change, announces deluxe LP". NME. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (November 11, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten – "When I Die"". Stereogum. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Stratis, Niko (July 19, 2022). "The Sandlot, Sharon Van Etten and the Beast". Spin. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  11. ^ "We've Been Going About This All Wrong by Sharon Van Etten reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "We've Been Going About This All Wrong by Sharon Van Etten Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  13. ^ Fisette, Jeremy J. (May 9, 2022). "Album Review: Sharon Van Etten - We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Bell, Kaelen (May 5, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten Gets Everything Right on We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  15. ^ Kuscher, Oliver (May 4, 2022). "We've Been Going About This All Wrong is Sharon Van Etten's most here-in-the-now record". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Danton, Eric R. (May 4, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten Returns with Potent Set of Songs on We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Paste. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  17. ^ Snapes, Laura (May 9, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten: We've Been Going About This All Wrong Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (May 6, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten Reaffirms Her Sterling Singer-Songwriter Reputation With We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  19. ^ Berlyant, Matthew (May 16, 2022). "Sharon Van Etten: We've Been Going About It All Wrong (Jagjaguwar)". Under the Radar. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Hatfield, Amanda (December 14, 2022). "BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2022". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  21. ^ Kaye, Ben (December 6, 2022). "Top 50 Albums of 2022". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  22. ^ Noor, Sun (November 30, 2022). "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2022". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  23. ^ Ariza, Sergio (December 1, 2022). "Los 50 mejores discos internacionales de 2022". Mondo Sonoro (in Spanish). Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  24. ^ Danton, Eric R. (November 28, 2022). "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Paste. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  25. ^ Mason, Adam (December 6, 2022). "The 80 Best Albums of 2022". PopMatters. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Sound Opinions #889: The Best Albums of 2022, Plus RIP Christine McVie". December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  27. ^ "Uncut's Top 75 Albums of 2022". Uncut. November 11, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  28. ^ Von Pip, Andy (December 23, 2022). "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2022". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  29. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Sharon Van Etten – We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sharon Van Etten – We've Been Going About This All Wrong" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sharon Van Etten – We've Been Going About This All Wrong" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  32. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sharon Van Etten – We've Been Going About This All Wrong" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  33. ^ "Charts.nz – Sharon Van Etten – We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  34. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Sharon Van Etten – We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  35. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sharon Van Etten – We've Been Going About This All Wrong". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  38. ^ "Americana/Folk Albums: Week of May 21, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  39. ^ "Top Album Sales: Week of May 21, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  40. ^ "Tastemaker Albums: Week of May 21, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  41. ^ "Vinyl Albums: Week of May 21, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2022.