By Chelsea Ives

Funky Electronica foregrounded by the folksy, haunting, but powerful vocals of Sharon Van Etten permeate “Comeback Kid” the fourth song on her newest album, Remind Me Tomorrow. “Comeback Kid” is also one of three of her newest songs to be released with a music video featuring her. The song seems to be meant as universal and individual all at once. “I’m recovering,” as SVE wraps her arms around herself in the video and looks away from the camera, the viewer is left with the sense that you are witnessing a private and intimate moment, as the video behind her sometimes shows flashes of her face. Although the moments seem individualized (especially in the video) the lyrics encompass more general ideas of the kinds of people you meet in your life – the hardly stays, the slips away, the turn arounds.

The video is a visual representation of the story SVE was trying to capture in the song, as she sings in front of screen which continuously plays clips of videos, lights, and abstract shapes which kaleidoscope together in a hypnotically confusing way. In a statement in Rolling Stone, SVE described her process for the song, “As the lyrics for ‘Comeback Kid’ unfolded, I realized I was talking about many selves: The kid, the adult, the sibling, the friend, the neighbor. I imagined a projector streaming over me of memories, unclear if they are mine or someone else’s, confronted by the disorientation of time and perspective […]”.

The final “comeback kid, come back,” which closes the song gives a cliff-hanger-like ending, suggesting that the stories of all these different “selves” are yet to be finished. Overall, the song has hopeful vibes which resonates with all – most of us being a sibling, friend, neighbor, and kid at heart.