Courtney Barnett

About Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett arrived from Melbourne in the early 2010s with the kind of deadpan wit and observational lyrics that made people pay attention without her having to try very hard. She started putting out music through her own label, Milk Records, which she ran with Jen Cloher. The 2013 double EP "A Sea of Split Peas" collected tracks that showcased her conversational singing style and lyrics that turned mundane anxiety into something worth hearing about. "Avant Gardener" became the early calling card, a song about a panic attack that somehow sounds both funny and unsettling.

The full-length debut "Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit" came in 2015 and felt like a proper arrival. It's the album with "Pedestrian at Best," which builds from shambling verses into a genuinely cathartic chorus, and "Depresto," which addresses depression with more nuance than most singer-songwriters manage. The whole record balances between slacker rock looseness and tight songwriting. She writes about elevator doors closing and being an anonymous nobody on "An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)" in a way that actually captures something real about modern life.

Her guitar playing doesn't get mentioned enough. She's not showy about it, but there's always a good riff or solo that hits when it needs to. The production on her records keeps things raw without sounding lo-fi for the sake of it. She worked with Burke Reid on most of her albums, and they found a sound that lets her voice sit right up front while the band still has room to breathe.

"Tell Me How You Really Feel" followed in 2018, darker and heavier in spots. "Nameless, Faceless" referenced Margaret Atwood and dealt with the kind of threatening messages women get online. "Need a Little Time" stripped things back to just voice and guitar. The album felt less immediately catchy than the debut but more willing to sit in discomfort.

She recorded "Lotta Sea Lice" with Kurt Vile in 2017, which was exactly what you'd expect from two mumbly guitar players hanging out and covering each other's songs. It works because neither of them forces it.

More recently she put out "Things Take Time, Take Time" in 2021, which softened some of the edges and brought in more melody. It's still recognizably her, just less concerned with the slacker rock template. The lyrics remain specific and grounded.

Barnett's managed to build a sustained career without chasing trends or reinventing herself every album cycle. She still tours regularly, still runs Milk Records, and still writes songs that notice small things and make them feel significant. She's one of the better lyricists working in indie rock, largely because she doesn't sound like she's trying to be.

Known for Pedestrian at Best, Nobody Really Cares if You Don't Go to the Party, Aqua Profunda, Avant Gardener, Kim's Caravan

See Courtney Barnett Live