This new Sharon Van Etten album is legit. Van Etten, one of the definitive indie singer-songwriters of her era, has written and recorded a full album with her backing band, the Attachment Theory. It’s brought something fresh and vibrant out of her — more rock, more pop, and more immediate than I’m used to hearing from her, even compared to the energy uptick of something like “Seventeen.” Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory is my favorite thing she’s ever done.

The album is coming in February, and the public’s first taste arrives today. “Afterlife” lays an electronic rock foundation behind Van Etten’s mesmerizing melody, maintaining her distinct, weighty ethos while also ramping up her sound to an arena-worthy surge. It’s refined yet hard-hitting, cold and precise yet warm and impassioned, and it sweeps me away every time.

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory was recorded in the Eurythmics’ former studio, the Church, with producer Marta Salogni. Van Etten offered this statement on how the new album came together:

For the first time in my life I asked the band if we could just jam. Words that have never come out of my mouth – ever! But I loved all the sounds we were getting. I was curious – what would happen? In an hour we wrote two songs that ended up becoming “I Can’t Imagine” and “Southern Life.”

Below, watch director Susu Laroche’s video for “Afterlife.”

TRACKLIST:
01 “Live Forever”
02 “Afterlife”
03 “Idiot Box”
04 “Trouble”
05 “Indio”
06 “I Can’t Imagine (Why You Feel This Way)”
07 “Somethin’ Ain’t Right”
08 “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)”
09 “Fading Beauty”
10 “I Want You Here”

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory is out 2/7 on Jagjaguwar. Pre-order it here.