I Don't Want To Let You Down [EP]
by Sharon Van Etten
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. PopMatters
    Jul 15, 2015
    90
    On the whole, I Don’t Want To Let You Down is quieter and more melancholy than Aimee Mann’s finest hour. But both records are beautiful, ever-relevant reminders that we can’t make meaningful connections until we admit to how much we really want them.
  2. Alternative Press
    Jun 22, 2015
    90
    Van Etten cements herself as the auteur of the symphonically sad.
  3. The Line of Best Fit
    Jun 4, 2015
    85
    There simply is no contemporary songwriter that speaks so plainly, yet so devastatingly, to the darker matters of the heart as Sharon Van Etten. Her intimacy is so palpable that the silence in the room once the record stops is jarring.
  5. Consequence
    Jun 3, 2015
    83
    While it might be easy to dismiss an EP as a lesser body of work, this five-song set makes the case that Van Etten is in a period of songwriting where all her music is essential, regardless of the package it’s delivered in.
  6. Dusted Magazine
    Jul 21, 2015
    80
    Van Etten’s born-loser character could have been a bore were it not for her disciplined musicianship (her early years included classical music and multiple instruments) and her painful but enduring singing. It never stops sounding like real hurt.
  7. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Jun 11, 2015
    80
    As with everything Van Etten puts out these days, it’s an essential release.
  8. AllMusic
    Jun 9, 2015
    80
    Both strong and vulnerable, I Don't Want to Let You Down is a concise and angst-packed set delivered with emphasis in all the right places.
  9. Magnet
    Jun 8, 2015
    80
    What sounds like downcast spaciousness is actually riddled with layers of sound complementing the expected morose and heartfelt topics. [No. 121, p.61]
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  10. Exclaim
    Jun 5, 2015
    80
    [The EP] reveal a steadier, more confident Van Etten, which--surprisingly enough--is just as thrilling as the unpredictable, anxious turns that garnered her so much praise on her last LP.
  11. NOW Magazine
    Jun 4, 2015
    80
    These are slow, sad ballads brilliantly executed.
  12. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jun 3, 2015
    80
    When icy guitar turns ‘Pay My Debts’ into one of Van Etten’s darkest songs yet, Van Etten’s wounds feel incredibly raw.
  13. Under The Radar
    Jun 17, 2015
    70
    While Are We There lit up the room in bundles of different textures, this little batch of songs is very much of a kind. Simple, classic R&B arrangements--super-warm, super-pure, with the piano and organ dictating much of the feel and a humble string section punctuating perfectly.
  14. Pitchfork
    Jun 11, 2015
    70
    Tthese four songs (plus a live rendition of "Tell Me", from the Tramp era) are messier things that fit the unclean nature of long-term severance.
  15. Rolling Stone
    Jun 9, 2015
    70
    The title track and "Pay My Debts" are unusually groove-driven near-pop. But the trumps are familiar folk-rock incandescence.
  16. Drowned In Sound
    Jun 3, 2015
    70
    I Don’t Want to Let You Down as a whole serve only to fuel, rather than dent, the anticipation that Are We There rightly stoked.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 25
  3. Negative: 1 out of 25
  1. RiLitros
    May 10, 2022
    7
    It's good as always, considering it's a (master)piece from Van Etten. Too short, though, and lacks on giving a overwhelming experience, imho.
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