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Sharon Van Etten has followed up the exquisite Tramp with another husky, dusky take on relationship devastation and persistence.  Are We There, the Brooklyn songwriter’s fourth album in five years, is dark and forceful as an expansive folk undercurrent lifts the music up alongside her simmering, rasp-inflected voice. Van Etten’s lyrics are spare, cryptic, filled with loosely linked images and utterances that favor mood over lucidity. Are We There is a mist of impressions, held together by seemingly deeply felt sentiments and the timeless soar of the woman’s vocals. The songs contain a restrained, pointed intensity. With hawk-like drive, the music dives into textures and tones well-matched with the black-and-white on-the-road photography that informs its album art. Though variation often eludes Van Etten, the sound she has developed is mesmeric. From the slinking synth-tinged “Taking Chances” to the direct piano ballad “Nothing Will Change,” Van Etten has created a heavy, melancholic vision.[...]