Courtney Barnett | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Melbourne-based singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett first came to light in 2012 when her self-released EP, Ive Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris, appeared and was roundly praised across Australia. Her conversational, deadpan delivery and garage rock-infused folk-pop style caught the attention of influential website Pitchfork, which named her song "Avant Gardener" one of its Best New Tracks during the summer of 2013. That year Barnett went on to release her second EP, How to Carve a Carrot into a Rose; the EP fed the continued international hype with songs like "History Eraser," which was nominated for the ARPA Song of the Year in Australia. As her momentum gathered, Barnett was invited to perform at New Yorks music showcase CMJ Music Marathon, as well as playing shows in Europe. Later in 2013 she put out her two EPs on one record titled Double EP: Sea of Split Peas. American label Mom + Pop signed her to a deal in 2014 and reissued Double EP in April of that year. Yet another EP, this one a compilation titled A Pair of Pears (With Shadows), appeared by the end of 2014. Early the following year, Barnett made appearances on American television and the SXSW festival in preparation for her heavily anticipated first full-length, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit., released in March 2015. A critical and cult success, Sometimes I Sit wound up peaking at number four in Australia and reaching 20 in the U.S.; shed later be nominated for Best New Artist at the 2016 Grammys. Barnett followed her acclaimed debut by teaming up with Kurt Vile for the duet album Lotta Sea Lice. The record was released in October 2017 and supported by a brief American tour. In 2018, she returned with her sophomore full-length album, Tell Me How You Feel, which included the single "Nameless, Faceless." In early 2019 Barnett returned with the one-off single "Everybody Here Hates You." | ||
 | Album: 1 of 10 Title: I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris Released: 2012-04-02 Tracks: 6 Duration: 29:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Lance Jr. (03:27) 2 Are You Looking After Yourself? (07:42) 3 Scotty Says (03:52) 4 Canned Tomatoes (Whole) (04:32) 5 Porcelain (07:07) 6 Ode to Odetta (02:46) |
 | Album: 2 of 10 Title: How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose Released: 2013-10-15 Tracks: 6 Duration: 26:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Out of the Woodwork (05:50) 2 Don’t Apply Compression Gently (03:35) 3 Avant Gardener (05:12) 4 History Eraser (03:28) 5 David (02:53) 6 Anonymous Club (05:50) |
 | Album: 3 of 10 Title: The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas Released: 2013-10-15 Tracks: 12 Duration: 56:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Out of the Woodwork (05:50) 2 Don’t Apply Compression Gently (03:35) 3 Avant Gardener (05:12) 4 History Eraser (03:28) 5 David (02:53) 6 Anonymous Club (05:50) 7 Lance Jr. (03:27) 8 Are You Looking After Yourself? (07:42) 9 Scotty Says (03:52) 10 Canned Tomatoes (Whole) (04:32) 11 Porcelain (07:07) 12 Ode to Odetta (02:46) |
| The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas : Allmusic album Review : The first album from Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett isnt a traditional full-length. Sea of Split Peas is in fact two EPs tied together to create a full body of work, and its a testament to her talented songwriting that the track list flows almost seamlessly from her breakthrough 2013 EP How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose into her 2012 release, Ive Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris. Barnetts greatest asset is her down-to-earth lyrical simplicity, which transforms what would otherwise be a mundane day or story into a tale of intrigue and significance. Obvious standout track "Avant Gardener" is typical of Barnetts dry wit as she explains her unsuccessful attempt at gardening, which results in a panic attack and the realization that she struggles with some of lifes simplest tasks as she muses, "Im not that good at breathing in." Her poetic words are set to a soundtrack of psychedelic-leaning guitar wails and chugging slacker-rock chords, which provide a freewheeling accompaniment to her narration. There is of course more to Barnett than her storytelling, and the churning melodies of "History Eraser" and the excitable "David" both indulge in a few organ blasts, piano twinkles, and rambling riffs that flare into the odd guitar solo. The difference between the two EPs is slightly obvious when the studio polish of 2013s Carve a Carrot Into a Rose -- which makes up the first half of the album -- breaks into the lo-fi sounding Ive Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris. The slight change of pace is heard in the unfurling tracks "Are You Looking After Yourself" and "Porcelain," which revel in their simplicity, and Barnett herself admits that this release was never intended to be noted as a full-length album, and was simply an exercise in collecting her work onto one disc. Its clear to see that together these EPs are an indicator of her wonderful songwriting talent. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 10 Title: Live at Splendour in the Grass Released: 2014-11 Tracks: 4 Duration: 19:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Avant Gardener (05:20) 2 Canned Tomatoes (Whole) (05:03) 3 History Eraser (06:25) 4 Lance Jr. (03:08) |
 | Album: 5 of 10 Title: World Cafe Session Released: 2015 Tracks: 9 Duration: 25:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Conversation, Part 1 (01:33) 2 Lance Jr. (03:24) 3 Conversation, Part 2 (01:58) 4 Are You Looking After Yourself (05:13) 5 Conversation, Part 3 (02:33) 6 Avant Gardener (04:34) 7 Conversation, Part 4 (01:15) 8 History Eraser (03:39) 9 Conversation, Part 5 (01:04) |
 | Album: 6 of 10 Title: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit Released: 2015-03-15 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:10:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Elevator Operator (03:14) 2 Pedestrian at Best (03:51) 3 An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York) (03:10) 4 Small Poppies (06:59) 5 Depreston (04:52) 6 Aqua Profunda! (01:59) 7 Dead Fox (03:33) 8 Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party (02:46) 9 Debbie Downer (03:17) 10 Kim’s Caravan (06:47) 11 Boxing Day Blues (03:02) 1 Lance Jr. (03:08) 2 Canned Tomatoes (Whole) (04:45) 3 Scotty Says (04:41) 4 History Eraser (04:31) 5 Avant Gardener (05:40) 6 David (03:57) |
| Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit : Allmusic album Review : A convincing argument that rock & roll doesnt need reinvention in order to revive itself, Courtney Barnetts full-length debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. falls into a long, storied rock tradition but never feels beholden to it. By almost any measure, Barnett is a traditionalist -- a singer/songwriter supported by a guitar-bass-drum trio, cranking out ballads and squalls of noise. Certainly, those flurries of six-string fury do recall a variety of indie rock from the 90s, an era when there was a surplus of guitar-friendly singer/songwriters, and if Sometimes I Sit does occasionally seem reminiscent of Liz Phairs landmark Exile in Guyville, it also seems to go back even further, sometimes suggesting the twitchy nerves of the former pub rockers who cranked up the volume and sharpened their invective in the wake of punk. So, Barnett might be part of a long line of underground rock troubadours but, as always, what matters is her specificity. Barnetts thick Australian accent carries an unstated pride for her homeland, but her sly twists of phrase, alternately wry and melancholic, give a greater sense of place, time, and character. Offhand observations mingle with understated insights, a nice trick of songwriting that the music cannily mirrors. When called upon, Barnett and her band can be furious -- "An Illustration of Loneliness" and "Kims Caravan" both work themselves up to a knotty, gnarled head -- but they can also slip into a soothing sadness ("Depreston," "Boxing Day Blues"). Usually, theyre punchy but not precise, hammering the hard hooks of "Aqua Profunda!" and "Nobody Really Cares If You Dont Go to the Party" into place, giving "Elevator Operator" and "Pedestrian at Best" an urgency that mimics Barnetts cloistered, clever words. There are no frills here but there is a distinct, compelling voice evident in Barnetts songs and music alike. Thats what makes Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. so invigorating: it may have roots -- perhaps even some inadvertent ones -- but its music that lives thoroughly in the moment. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 10 Title: Live at Electric Lady Studios Released: 2015-11-06 Tracks: 6 Duration: 26:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Lance Jr. (03:08) 2 Canned Tomatoes (Whole) (04:45) 3 Scotty Says (04:41) 4 History Eraser (04:31) 5 Avant Gardener (05:40) 6 David (03:57) |
 | Album: 8 of 10 Title: Lotta Sea Lice Released: 2017-10-13 Tracks: 9 Duration: 44:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Over Everything (06:19) 2 Let It Go (04:33) 3 Fear Is Like a Forest (04:47) 4 Outta the Woodwork (06:21) 5 Continental Breakfast (04:53) 6 On Script (03:59) 7 Blue Cheese (04:37) 8 Peepin’ Tom (04:14) 9 Untogether (04:50) |
 | Album: 9 of 10 Title: Tell Me How You Really Feel Released: 2018-05-18 Tracks: 10 Duration: 37:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hopefulessness (04:48) 2 City Looks Pretty (04:41) 3 Charity (04:10) 4 Need a Little Time (03:58) 5 Nameless, Faceless (03:14) 6 I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch (01:50) 7 Crippling Self‐Doubt and a General Lack of Self Confidence (02:48) 8 Help Your Self (03:02) 9 Walkin’ on Eggshells (04:01) 10 Sunday Roast (04:44) |
| Tell Me How You Really Feel : Allmusic album Review : Courtney Barnett specializes in miniatures, which is why her 2015 debut, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, was such a wonder: with barbed words and gnarled guitars, she made everyday minutiae seem compelling. Three years in the making -- it was delayed in part due to a 2017 collaboration with Kurt Vile -- the 2018 sequel, Tell Me How You Really Feel, plays like the flip image of its predecessor. What once was captivating now feels indifferent, delivered with a shrug instead of a snarl. Everything about Tell Me How You Really Feel seems muted, whether its the grungy stomp of Barnett and her band -- a group that remains steadfastly and proudly stuck in the glory days of 90s alt-rock -- or her words, which now seem to meander to a point instead of cutting to the quick. As shes a good craftswoman, the songs are by and large sturdy, but that talent also cuts against the success of Tell Me How You Really Feel: when theyre matched with the appealing yet incurious performances, everything feels a bit too cozy. Sometimes, a hook or a clever line cuts through the amiable haze -- and "Charity," with its chorus of "so subservient I make myself sick," manages to blend both -- but Tell Me How You Really Feel isnt an album of moments, its a collection that sustains a mood: a mood thats ragged and slack, but too dulled to charm. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 10 Title: Deezer Sessions Released: 2018-10-12 Tracks: 5 Duration: 21:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 City Looks Pretty (05:13) 2 Charity (04:05) 3 Need a Little Time (04:12) 4 Nameless, Faceless (03:28) 5 Sunday Roast (04:44) |