Sharon Van Etten has been in a collaborative mood lately. She recruited a bunch of artists to cover her songs for the recent Epic Ten reissue, and now she has teamed up with Angel Olsen on a huge new single, “Like I Used To.”
Van Etten said of the track, “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.”
Olsen also added, “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.”
Furthermore, Van Etten wrote of Olsen on social media, “I have loved @angelolsenmusic’s music for a long time. I have been to her shows and cried in the audience. I have cheers’d her post show on the road. She has sent me inspirations and support in my high and lows along the way. I never thought I would get the courage to send her an unfinished song and ask her to do a duet with me and here we are. Thank you, Angel, for calling my bluff and lifting me up, and making this song better than it ever could have been. I hope you all enjoy this collaboration that has spanned a year in the making. I am so happy to share it with you.”
The song was produced by John Congleton, who knows both artists well at this point: He previously worked with Van Etten on Remind Me Tomorrow and with Olsen on Burn Your Fire For No Witness and All Mirrors.
Watch the “Like I Used To” video above.
