Tag: Courtney Barnett

Posted in Album Reviews

Courtney Barnett – Creature Of Habit (2026)

Posted on by Michael

Creature of Habit is the new album from Australian transplant Courtney Barnett, now living in LA. The album centrepiece, “Mantis”, was co-written with Stella Mozgawa who co-produces and plays on all the tracks. As the verses tumble out one after another, Barnett is hyper aware as she sings “Organizing all my thoughts, making them rhyme”. Inward looking is a major theme throughout the album, “Rip this thing out of my head (please be patient)” goes first track “Stay In Your Lane” and as she sings on “Sugar Plum”, “I’m in over my head”.

The pronounced bass on “Sugar Plum” turns to technicolour over layers of guitars when she sings that she’s “looking forward to some brighter days”. Though introspective, the album is never down. Songs such as the thoughtful “Wonder” spring to life and the repetition of closing track “Another Beautiful Day” turns it into a mantra. While it’s hard to pinpoint a truly great song, Creature Of Habit is chockful of very good tracks. Another Courtney Barnett album that stands tall upon repeated listens.

7.5/10

Posted in Listed

Favourite Distant (Re)Discoveries of 2022

Posted on by Michael

5. George McCrae – Rock Your Baby (Song): Likely heard one night while listening to the Top of the Pops podcast on the BBC, somehow I had never heard this track before even though it is one of the biggest selling singles of all time at 11 million units. A staggering achievement for this understated slice of R&B disco that slinks along in it’s rhythmic funk. One that works as well on the dancefloor or while holding your baby on the couch.

4. Courtney Barnett – Before You Gotta Go (Song): I missed listening Barnett’s Things Take Time, Take Time album upon release in late 2021 and instead listened in early 2022. A grower of an album with several highlights. One of them being this track of breaking up but wanting to remain friends or at least go out with good memories. The video is equally as great.

3.  Siouxsie and the Banshees – Icon (Song):  Working through the Banshees catalogue, Join Hands was reviewed back in August.  The album proved to be a grim listen at times, lacking some of the pop smarts of the band’s other work.  Still, the track “Icon” was a standout. The slow building song changes midway to thundering drums before exploding into life. 

2.  Radiohead – Kid A (Album):  Kid A is an album I’ve listened to off and on for 20 years but never for more than a few tracks at a time and had never really done a deep dive into the tracks.  Released after the mega selling OK Computer, Kid A split opinion in the rock community, perhaps doing exactly what Thom Yorke was hoping.  Listening to the album and reading Steven Hyden’s excellent book, This Isn’t Happening, was a personal highlight of enjoying art in multiple mediums in  2022. 

1. The Beatles – Revolver (2CD Deluxe Edition) (Album):  Rating another Giles Martin remix of an album by The Beatles is hardly the stuff of surprise at this point. Still, it’s hard to ignore when the attention gets turned to one of the greatest albums of all time in Revolver.  The highlight of these packages, regardless of which edition you choose, is the bonus material. Hearing the all too familiar songs in different takes is thrilling.  From instrumentals (“Eleanor Rigby”), stripped down versions (“Tomorrow Never Knows”) or raw takes (“Here, There and Everywhere”), the bonus album was a delight. 

Posted in Album Reviews

Courtney Barnett – Things Take Time, Take Time (2021)

Posted on by Michael
Things Take Time, Take Time (Light Blue Cassette) (Audio Cassette)

The third full length album released by Melbourne’s Courney Barnett last November was an intimate affair. Working with just Stella Mozgawa from the band Warpaint, the two played all the instruments plus co-produced. In typical Barnett style, first single “Rae Street” makes the mundane of observing life through a window sound interesting all while riding a mid tempo groove. “Sunfair Sundown” catches the same trick, a really catchy track that adds a chiming guitar while she tells another, “I don’t want you to be alone”.

“Before You Gotta Go” is a sweet song about leaving on a good note after breaking up. “Take It Day By Day” has a solid bass sound on a song about keeping at it with the added motivation of adding handclaps. The album ends on a slower note where Barnett sings “but I’m the same kid, always laughing”. On that track and others, Barnett wrings a lot of emotion out of her deadpan singing voice.

Some of the songs on Things Take Time, Take Time could use a bit more polish and at just 34 minutes, this feels more like a stop gap EP rather than a full length.  However, what Courtney Barnett and Stella Mozgawa have created is a brisk batch of catchy songs that can sound tossed off and great at the same time.

7.5/10

Posted in Listed

Favourite Albums of 2018

Posted on by Michael

51k7S8+kLDL._AA327_QL65_5. Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour: Arguably the biggest country crossover into the indie rock world of 2018. Musgraves’ fourth major album release was as slick as they come but hard not to appreciate the quality of the songs. “Lonely Weekend”, “Space Cowboy” and album standout “High Horse” are the touchstones. But those are accompanied by opener “Slow Burn” and “Velvet Elvis”. While many of these songs could easily be featured in almost every commercial on TV, it doesn’t take away from the fact that virtually every one is a winner.

Mitski4. Mitski – Be The Cowboy : The first vocal on Mitski’s fifth album claims “you’re my number 1” which is fitting as this is topping album polls across the world. Clocking in at just over 33 minutes with most songs around the two-minute mark, it is easy to leave this one on repeat for a few hours. First single “Nobody” provides the longing that is at the heart of this album. The hard rocking “Remember My Name” is followed by the defiant “Me and My Husband”. There is a reason people keep talking about this album, the quick snapshots of music cut across numerous styles but most of all, it does them expertly.

trcy3. Tracyanne & Danny – Tracyanne & Danny : Quietly one of the most welcome returns to music was from Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell. Her voice is like a warm fire on a cold winter night. Here she appears with Danny Coughlan and together they create one of the best runs of music in 2018 from first track “Home & Dry” to infectious single “Alabama”. Second half highlight belongs to Coughlan with his 50s style “Anybody Else”. Overshadowed by bigger releases, this Merge Records release is an easy album to fall in love with.

41M5dXB2SNL._AA327_QL65_2. Courtney Barnett –  Tell Me How You Really Feel: In the disposable world of streaming and downloads, it’s rare that an album is a grower but Tell Me How You Really Feel did just that. Hard to get into at first, it feels disjointed and a bit of a downer album about touring but repeated listens prove that is not true. “City Looks Pretty” and “Nameless, Faceless” are dynamite indie rock songs. “Need A Little Time” features a pretty melody in the chorus and it’s all closed down with the melancholic uplift of “Sunday Roast”. Barnett tore the Winnipeg Folk Fest down on the Friday night this past summer. Too hard rocking for a lot of the crowd but was a glorious racket for the rest of us.

61KEfYl6iVL._AA327_QL65_1. Beach House – 7: When reviewing the latest Beach House on the Celebration Rock Podcast, critic Steve Hyden talked about how 7 does exactly what he wants from a BH album. This is pretty much bang on. “Pay No Mind”, “Lemon Glow and “Dive” standout and the rest of the album does a very good job of being atmospheric and ethereal. “Lose Yourself” is beautiful as is “Woo” but with an 80s synth feel. 7 glides along on its rails and is happy to take the listener to the next station for its duration.