• News

• All

Apr 01, 2021 By Joey Arnone

Sharon Van Etten has shared a cover of “Don’t Do It,” originally featured on her 2010 Epic album, performed by Courtney Barnett and featuring Vagabon (aka Lætitia Tamko). The new cover is the fifth song release from her upcoming anniversary album, epic Ten, which will be out on April 16 via Ba Da Bing. Listen below.

Van Etten speaks about the collaboration in a press release: “Courtney Barnett has been an important musical influence on me since 2014, when we first met at The Neptune theater in Seattle. From the first time we met, I felt like I made an immediate friend. From performing together, to having home hangs in between tours, commiserating with the very specific mixed feelings of tour life assimilating back to home life and figuring out the in between as we have been learning how to nurture our domestic lives while paying attention to our creative selves outside of the album and touring cycle. I admire Courtney’s writing style in that she has such a unique and intimate narrative approach while being personal and funny, without giving too much away. I feel connected to her music and perspective, while always wanting to learn more—and as a friend she has offered me guidance and advice while also being an ear when I have been in a rut or when I am in need of a new approach to look at my writing in a new way.”

Barnett adds: “I was so honored that Sharon invited me to be part of this project. She is one of my favourite songwriters and such an inspiring artist, performer, and encouraging friend to me. This song ‘Don’t Do It’ is powerful and personal, I really didn’t know how to make it my own, in fact I tried to pick a different song and convinced myself I wasn’t up to the task, but Sharon was quietly supportive the whole time. In the process of talking vulnerably about the lyrics with her, I had to delve deeper into what the song meant for me. It’s fascinating to hear an artist ruminate on a song that is ten years old and see how it/they have evolved. I think it’s a beautiful thing to celebrate the journey of a song.”

Tamko also shares her experience of working on the song: “Courtney and I found that we have a beautiful collaborating chemistry when we made our cover of ‘Reason to Believe,’ which came out earlier this year. So when CB asked me to join her in singing ‘Don’t Do It’ by the inimitable Sharon Van Etten, I was thrilled! ‘Don’t Do It’ is one of my favorite tracks off Epic and it was such a pleasure to do a version of it with Courtney.”

Van Etten previously shared four covers from the upcoming album: “A Crime” by Big Red Machine, “Peace Signs” by IDLES, “Free Yourself” by Lucinda Williams, and “Dsharpg” by Shamir. She will be releasing a new cover every Thursday leading up to the album’s release. Her most recent album, Remind Me Tomorrow, came out in 2019 via Jagjaguwar.

Read our in-depth interview with Sharon Van Etten on Remind Me Tomorrow and check out our exclusive photo shoot with her.

Back in January, Barnett and Vagabon shared a cover of Karen Dalton’s version of “Reason to Believe.”

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.