Pop gig of the week: Sharon van Etten, various venues

Alt-rock high-rankers from Beirut and The National guest on Sharon van Etten's third album, Tramp, but the contents of her contacts book prove less dramatically compelling than the growing confidence in her own voice.

That drama has played out on and off record for this US singer-songwriter. In life, Van Etten endured an abusive relationship with a chap who told her she couldn't sing (his time behind bars may have been due to issues besides cloth ears); on Tramp, Van Etten prises shows of strength from hard-won wisdoms, her smoky voice tremulous with poise and feeling over tense settings on intimate emotional stealth-bomb songs – Throwing Muses meets Cat Power being the vibe.

It's a drama that has seen her graduate from quiet cult concern to cathartic cross-over contender, a point from which her fanbase is, hearteningly, stretching well beyond that inner circle.

Scala, London N1 (020 7734 8932; stargreen.com) Wed; Deaf Institute, Manchester (0845 413 4444; alt-tickets.co.uk) Thur

The Fall ‘Darkness Visible’ – Series 1, episode 2

There is a good many moments in the second episode of this psychological thriller that deserve refle...

‘Vicious’ – Series 1, episode 4

The opening titles squeal ‘Never Can Say Goodbye…’. Oh Lord how I wish I could heave this series off...

Game of Thrones ‘Second Sons’ – Season 3, episode 8

Even though there was a complete absence of our favourite odd couple Brienne and Jaime, we got anoth...

Most Viewed
Most Shared
Most Commented

Get your summer started with British Military Fitness

BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes

Visit York Prizes & offers Business videos

Visit York

Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world

Military Fitness Prizes & offers Business videos

Enter the latest Independent competitions

Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Military Fitness Visit York Business videos

Business videos from commercial thought leaders

Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.

Military Fitness Visit York Prizes & offers

Masculinity in crisis?

'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

Have US shock jocks gone too far?

An incendiary remark from Rush Limbaugh may be the beginning of the end for outspoken right-wing US broadcasters

The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey

Elmbridge pays more income tax than big cities of the North

Heavenly Bodies

Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell

'He will always be a friend'

Jackie Stewart backs Roman Polanski

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.

'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.

Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in