LIVE REVIEW: Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, Angie McMahon @ Boiler Shop, Newcastle (30.08.25)

Image by Rhiannon Banks

The Boiler Shop can be an unforgiving stage for opening acts, but for Melbourne songwriter Angie McMahon this lofty old room is about as quiet as I’ve ever heard it. It figures, right? Why chat through high calibre sad lass indie rock when you’ve come precisely to listen to high calibre sad lass indie rock? If only every crowd were so logical/mild mannered!

Apparently selected from fans’ social media requests, McMahon’s setlist leans heavily on her excellent 2023 second album Light, Dark, Light Again, littered with ruminations on personal crises, hitting rock bottom and the chinks of light which guide her through. There’s a gorgeous singalong on Making It Through, a cameo from Sharon Van Etten herself on Fish (“breakups are worth it when you can sing about them with your favourite artists!”) and a soaring flex of her range on Beginner. Perhaps most notable, though, is a new untitled number, whose fuzzed-up keys and vocal manipulations recall the distorted intimacy of peak Bon Iver. It’s analogous to catnip for the Van Etten faithful, plenty of whom already seem au fait, while the opportunity to earn converts is seized with each and every fresh tale of emotional tumult. A terrific support.

As well as being her first visit to Newcastle in six years, tonight marks the conclusion of a hectic two-week tour that’s seen Van Etten traverse the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. For many, it’s also a first opportunity to see her with The Attachment Theory, a fully settled and assimilated outfit whose contribution far exceeds that of a mere backing band.

With a co-credit and involvement in the creative process, the trio – Jorge Balbi (drums), Devra Hoff (bass) and Teeny Lieberson (synth/backing vocals) – lent the New Jersey songwriter fresh impetus on recent album Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory. If anything, their effect on the live stage is even more pronounced. Bolstered by additional guitarist Shanna Polley, Van Etten is afforded the freedom to fully embrace her role as frontwoman, leading a five-piece machine whose chemistry proves electric and infectious throughout.
This is especially prescient during the new material, which dominates a first half in which this show generates its greatest momentum. Indeed, far from merely indulging these songs before a succession of familiar favourites, it’s during this stretch that the audience is most energised. Idiot Box in particular is fantastic; a driving, front-foot anthem bellowed back with the reverence of an instant classic. Elsewhere, I Can’t Imagine (Why You Feel This Way) sports a groovy jam band aesthetic demonstrative of stable, tight-knit collaborators, while Something Ain’t Right sees Hoff evoke The Cure’s Simon Gallup, dropping a delicious, liquid bassline amidst a rush of ecstatic, spiralling synths.

Of course, the glue binding it all remains Van Etten’s remarkable voice. Among the most arresting in the indie rock/singer-songwriter sphere, its wearied, piercing quality is a singular force, as potent at issuing devastating rallying cries as delivering emotional hammer blows. Even so, the backing vocal is a key cog in any Van Etten line-up, and it’s in this role that Lieberson shines particularly brightly. Performing with the gusto of a co-frontperson, hers and Van Etten’s voices chime with an alchemy which can feel truly unstoppable. At its peak – namely during magnificent staple Serpents – the effect is truly stupendous; an explosive, transcendent catharsis whose breathtaking sonic power is matched only by its sheer emotional heft.

This intensity is never quite recaptured – though with an up-tempo recalibration of Every Time the Sun Comes Up and the return of McMahon for a tour-exclusive cover of Neil Young’s Helpless and early favourite Love More, The Attachment Theory’s prowess is seldom put to waste. None of this is to denigrate past touring parties, each of whom have proven integral to some outstanding shows. Regardless, tonight proves the Attachment Theory effect extends far beyond the studio, and moreover that their introduction has kindled the most accomplished, dynamic and invigorating Sharon Van Etten live experience to date.