Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To”

Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To”

Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen have a lot in common: same record label, same publicist, similar knack for tasteful yet impassioned indie rock anthems. And now they’ve done the only reasonable thing and recorded one of those anthems together, produced by John Congleton (with whom both artists have worked in the past). The emotive and country-tinged “Like I Used To” brings together two artists who have mutually admired each other from a distance for a while, as explained in statements from both women.

Here’s Van Etten:

Even though we weren’t super close, I always felt supported by Angel and considered her a peer in this weird world of touring. We highway high-fived many times along the way… I finally got the courage in June of 2020 to reach out to see if she would want to sing together. I got greedy and quickly sent her a track I had been working on.

And here’s Olsen:

I’ve met with Sharon here and there throughout the years and have always felt too shy to ask her what she’s been up to or working on. The song reminded me immediately of getting back to where I started, before music was expected of me, or much was expected of me, a time that remains pure and real in my heart.

Besides Van Etten and Olsen, the band on “Like I Used To” includes Dave Hartley (The War On Drugs), Zac Rae (Death Cab For Cutie), and Griffin Goldsmith (Dawes). Kimberly Stuckwisch directed the video, which was filmed at locations around Los Angeles and Joshua Tree. Watch it below.

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