Are We There

Of the lack of a question mark in the album's title, Van Etten said it was "… open-ended, I ask myself that question all the time, for my work, for my love, even for my friends. It's just really good to check in with yourself and it's a play on words, about touring and about travelling, being in transition."{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/News/sharon_van_etten_explains_open-ended_nature_of_are_we_there|title=Sharon Van Etten Explains the Open-Ended Nature of 'Are We There'|work=Exclaim!|publisher=1059434 Ontario|last=Lau|first=Melody|date=May 6, 2014|access-date=October 5, 2014}}

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 8.3/10{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/6414/Sharon-Van-Etten-Are-We-There.aspx|title=Are We There by Sharon Van Etten reviews|work=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=December 18, 2019}}

| MC = 86/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/are-we-there/sharon-van-etten|title=Reviews for Are We There by Sharon Van Etten|work=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=December 1, 2014}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/are-we-there-mw0002627927|title=Are We There – Sharon Van Etten|work=AllMusic|publisher=RhythmOne|last1=Thomas|first1=Fred|access-date=May 26, 2014}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2Score = A−{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/sharon-van-etten-unleashes-an-epic-that-s-punishing-in-1798180559|title=Sharon Van Etten unleashes an epic that's punishing—in a good way|work=The A.V. Club|publisher=The Onion|last=St. James|first=Emily|date=May 27, 2014|access-date=December 9, 2015}}

| rev3 = Chicago Tribune

| rev3Score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-05-23-sc-ent-0523-music-sharon-van-etten-neil-young-revi-20140523-story.html|title=Sharon Van Etten tucks turmoil inside melodies|work=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|date=May 23, 2014|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023165105/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-05-23/entertainment/sc-ent-0523-music-sharon-van-etten-neil-young-revi-20140523_1_sharon-van-etten-melodies-guitar|archive-date=October 23, 2015|url-status=live}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/22/sharon-van-etten-are-we-there-review|title=Sharon Van Etten: Are We There review – breathtaking lyrics, hit-and-miss songs|work=The Guardian|last=Jonze|first=Tim|date=May 22, 2014|access-date=December 9, 2015}}

| rev5 = The Independent

| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-reviews-neil-young-royksopp-robyn-sharon-van-etten-the-secret-sisters-9424829.html|title=Album reviews: Neil Young, Royksopp & Robyn, Sharon Van Etten, The Secret Sisters|work=The Independent|publisher=Independent Print|last1=Coleman|first1=Nick|last2=Williams|first2=Holly|last3=Harley|first3=Kevin|last4=Richman|first4=Simmy|date=May 23, 2014|access-date=December 9, 2015}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6Score = 8/10{{cite journal|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/sharon-van-etten/15326|title=Sharon Van Etten – 'Are We There'|journal=NME|publisher=TI Media|last=Traynor|first=Cian|date=May 23, 2014|access-date=December 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127063332/http://www.nme.com/reviews/sharon-van-etten/15326|archive-date=November 27, 2014}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 8.2/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19384-sharon-van-etten-are-we-there/|title=Sharon Van Etten: Are We There|work=Pitchfork|publisher=Condé Nast|last=Deusner|first=Stephen M.|date=May 27, 2014|access-date=May 27, 2014}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Sharon Van Etten: Are We There|journal=Q|publisher=Bauer Media Group|issue=336|date=July 2014|page=117}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/are-we-there-20140523|title=Are We There|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|last=Hermes|first=Will|author-link=Will Hermes|date=June 5, 2014|issue=1210|page=73|issn=0035-791X|access-date=May 23, 2014}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = 9/10{{cite journal|title=Sharon Van Etten: Are We There|journal=Uncut|issue=205|date=June 2014|page=70}}

}}

Upon its release Are We There received widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Fred Thomas of AllMusic rated Are We There four-out-of-five stars, in particular praising the album's "inventive arrangements and advances in songwriting", which he referred to as "an undeniable step forward for Van Etten". In Rolling Stone, Will Hermes also rated Are We There four-out-of-five stars, writing that "like Nick Cave, [Van Etten's] darkness contains multitudes" and calling the album "magnificent" and one "which grows her trademark examinations of romantic decay to cathedral-like scale." The A.V. Club{{'}}s Emily St. James summarized that "Are We There offers an artist in full command of her voice and her instrument" and called it a "punishing epic of an album, intense and bruised and haunted", ultimately awarding it an A− rating.

Pitchfork writer Stephen M. Deusner called Are We There "the peak of a steady upward trajectory", describing how it was more "self-determined and self-directed" than Van Etten's previous albums, Because I Was in Love (2009), Epic (2010) and Tramp (2012). In NME, Cian Traynor made a similar observation, writing that Are We There is "less jagged and more finessed than its intricately layered predecessor … The songs are slower and spacious enough to keep their clarity intact". Traynor further praised the album's arrangements and Van Etten's emotional delivery, awarding it an eight-out-of-ten rating. However, writing for The Guardian, Tim Jonze offered a more mixed review criticizing how Van Etten's songwriting on Are We There "conforms to accomplished but trad indie-rock norm". Jonze did, however, appreciate the album's "unusual harmonies", "orchestral slow build" and referred to "Every Time the Sun Comes Up" as a "stirring closing number" in his three-out-of-five-star review.

Due to its high rating of 86 on Metacritic, Are We There became the fifth-most critically acclaimed album of 2014.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} In addition, it placed in several year-end lists. The album was placed at number 20 on Rolling Stone{{'}}s list of the "50 Best Albums of 2014." Likewise, NME placed the album at number 31 on their list, while Q placed it at number 7.{{cite web|url=https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/13948-sharon-van-etten-are-we-there.php|title=Sharon Van Etten – Are We There – Reviews|work=Album of the Year|access-date=December 1, 2014}} Jessica Goodman and Ryan Kistobak of The Huffington Post included the album on their list of 2014's best releases, calling the album "earnest and tragic".{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-albums-2014_n_6326402|title=The 23 Best Albums of 2014|work=HuffPost|publisher=Verizon Media|last1=Goodman|last2=Kristobak|first1=Jessica|first2=Ryan|date=December 15, 2014|access-date=December 15, 2014}} In 2019, Pitchfork ranked Are We There at number 174 on their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s"; contributing editor Jayson Greene wrote: "Are We There was a great deepening—of Sharon Van Etten’s emotional range, of the power of her songwriting, and of the potency of her voice."{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-2010s/|title=The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s|work=Pitchfork|date=8 October 2019|accessdate=9 October 2019}}

{{Track listing

| total_length = 47:03

| title1 = Afraid of Nothing

| length1 = 4:05

| title2 = Taking Chances

| length2 = 3:50

| title3 = Your Love Is Killing Me

| length3 = 6:18

| title4 = Our Love

| length4 = 3:53

| title5 = Tarifa

| length5 = 4:51

| title6 = I Love You But I'm Lost

| length6 = 4:19

| title7 = You Know Me Well

| length7 = 4:32

| title8 = Break Me

| length8 = 4:01

| title9 = Nothing Will Change

| length9 = 3:16

| title10 = I Know

| length10 = 3:36

| title11 = Every Time the Sun Comes Up

| length11 = 4:23

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japanese CD digital download{{cite web|url=http://hostess.co.jp/releases/2014/06/HSE-60187.html|title=Are We There|work=Hostess Entertainment Unlimited|access-date=March 28, 2019|archive-date=March 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328224555/http://hostess.co.jp/releases/2014/06/HSE-60187.html|url-status=dead}} bonus tracks

| title1 = Afraid of Nothing

| note1 = Demo

| title2 = Taking Chances

| note2 = Demo

| title3 = Break Me

| note3 = Demo

}}

All personnel credits adapted from Are We There{{'}}s album notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=Are We There|others=Sharon Van Etten|year=2014|type=Album notes|publisher=Jagjaguwar|id=JAG255}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Musicians

• Sharon Van Etten – vocals {{small|(1–11)}}, guitar {{small|(1–5, 7–9)}}, piano {{small|(1, 4, 6, 7, 10)}}, organ {{small|(2–4, 7, 9)}}, Omnichord {{small|(2, 4, 8, 11)}}, bass {{small|(2)}}, drums {{small|(4, 6–8)}}, synthesizer {{small|(8)}}, claps {{small|(11)}}
• David Hartley – bass {{small|(1, 4, 5, 7–9, 11)}}, bass synthesizer {{small|(3)}}, baritone guitar {{small|(3)}}, guitar {{small|(4, 8, 11)}}, backing vocals {{small|(11)}}, claps {{small|(11)}}
• Zeke Hutchins – drums {{small|(1–5, 7–9, 11)}}, percussion {{small|(4, 5, 9)}}, backing vocals {{small|(10)}}, claps {{small|(11)}}
• Heather Woods Broderick – strings {{small|(1)}}, backing vocals {{small|(1–3, 5–7, 9, 11)}}, electric piano {{small|(7)}}
• Jonathan Meiburg – guitar {{small|(1, 4, 5)}}, organ {{small|(4, 5)}}, electric piano {{small|(5)}}
• Jacob C. Morris – electric piano {{small|(2)}}, organ {{small|(3, 5)}}, piano {{small|(3, 7)}}
• Doug Keith – guitar {{small|(2, 8, 11)}}, bowed guitar {{small|(7)}}
• Adam Granduciel – guitar {{small|(4, 11)}}, electric piano {{small|(11)}}
• Stewart Lerman – piano {{small|(1)}}, organ {{small|(1, 4)}}
• Stuart Bogie – woodwinds {{small|(5, 9)}}
• Mickey Free – beats {{small|(2, 4, 8)}}
• Mackenzie Scott – backing vocals {{small|(1, 4)}}

{{col-2}}

;Musicians (continued)

• Mary Lattimore – harp {{small|(4, 8)}}
• Marisa Anderson – guitar {{small|(1)}}
• Peter Broderick – strings {{small|(1)}}
• Jana Hunter – backing vocals {{small|(2)}}
• Little Isidore – backing vocals {{small|(1)}}

;Technical personnel

• Sharon Van Etten – production
• Stewart Lerman – production, mixing {{small|(1, 5, 7, 9–11)}}
• James Frazee – recording
• Richard Swift – mixing {{small|(2–4, 6, 8)}}

;Design personnel

• Martine Franck – photography
• Dusdin Condren – photography {{small|(inner sleeve)}}

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Discogs master|master=690254|name=Are We There|type=album}}
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{{Sharon Van Etten|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2014 albums

Category:Albums produced by Stewart Lerman

Category:Jagjaguwar albums

Category:Sharon Van Etten albums