Hear Sharon Van Etten's New Song, 'Beaten Down' (original) (raw)

**YouTube

Sharon Van Etten is back with her first single since 2019's fearless and ambitious Remind Me Tomorrow, "Beaten Down."

It's a beautiful, darkly textured track that Van Etten says is "about love, patience and empathy... about making life-changing choices and remaining strong enough to see them through." It was released alongside a majestic black-and-white video, (some of) the many virtues of which I will extol here:

• Mountainous landscape, filmed in the California desert by directors Nicky and Juliana Giraffe
• Dramatic hat removal
• Flowy jumpsuit
• Elegant dance moves with fans, featuring twin dancers Allison and Veronica Huber
• Sharon Van Etten in a white suit, walking serenely next to a horse (this happens twice; both times are good)
• Sharon Van Etten sitting serenely on a horse
• Horses running wild in said landscape

What more could you want? No news on a new album yet, by the way — "Beaten Down" is, for now, just a standalone single. So feel free to rewatch those running horses a few more times.