Courtney Barnett, I like her

Right? Just a tone of "detached, bemused semi-omniscient narrator" there on a lot of the songs, with a personal "in" at times.

can't unhear Sheryl Crow now, will have to embrace it as a positive

oh shit what have i done

Still think more Liz Phair than Sheryl, not least because part of Sheryl's thing was a certain amount of jadedness -- she was old for a new pop star when she broke -- and Courtney's POV is not at all jaded.

On first time all the way through, I like the album a lot. Not sold on the slow blues, but overall it's got good tunes, nice energy, and her vocals wear well for me. (That last will obviously be people's make or break with her.)

She played lead in various garage bands around oz before striking out on her own, so that might very well be her on the lead. even if it isn't she's got an ear for great guitar sounds.

hearing a lot of decent aussie indie stuff lately. its in good health. i really like courtney barnett, dick diver and ausmuteants. any other good aussie stuff people can hip me to?

― tayto fan (Michael B), Friday, 13 March 2015 11:54 (1 week ago)

NZ rather than Aus, but the Street Chant/Emily Edrosa axis of bands does that Flying-Nun-via-grunge thing p.well; ditto some of the Fishrider bands from Dunedin.

I've resolved to hear her as more Barbara Manning than Liz Phair, mainly because I want to like her.

Not sold on the slow blues

the soloing on that one is classical, sonny-rollins-esque levels of structure

I'm crediting her with some of the excellent guitar work.

the rhythm guitar is great too, so whoever does what, it's great all around

I've resolved to hear her as more Barbara Manning than Liz Phair, mainly because I want to like her.

I like both of them and some Sheryl Crow too. Maybe what Courtney mostly sounds like is somebody who grew up on all of that (plus Nirvana and Lemonheads etc). Anyway, I agree about her guitar playing, it has this very nonchalant flow -- like her vocals -- but then these unexpected textures and colorful spikes.

Tipsy, what slow blues? please don't say small poppies :)
Her vocals actually remind me most of Lou Reed.

she sounds like liz phair bc liz phair was aiming to sing like a dude iirc
CB sings like a dude too!

i mean that in the best possible way

The percolator line is the only thing that's put me off slightly so far. Otherwise this is nice.

She was very good at the launch party last night, despite being obviously annoyed by the lacklustre crowd.

Tipsy, what slow blues? please don't say small poppies :)

Yeah, "Small Poppies." But when I say "not sold," it could grow on me. Most of the album is so immediate that that one has tried my patience in comparison. Maybe seeing her play it live will change my mind.

Elevator Operator is amazing!

she's ok, but way overrated imo

The album is definitely too mild for me. Figured there would be more fuzz pedals.

i like the album but i wish more of it sounded like "pedestrian at best"

The album bloomed as soon as I realized the guitar and attitude were closer to Sheryl Crow than Liz Phair.

i checked out her collection of eps last year (thought it was an album until now) after enjoying a one-off song i heard, but was kinda disappointed. the title and cover of this one are both supremely offputting

welp that's sorted then

re: dude singing

Yeah, she really reminds me of Reed and Cobian, not just in the chord progressions and imagery, but also the way she builds an aggressive persona around feeling weak and ineffectual. Also the way she make the music pretty when you're looking for noise, and noisy once you're getting comfortable with the jangle.

I seem to playing Aqua Profonda the most. I like that track.

She doesn't seem perturbed that the person next lane over apparently left her to drown.

her singing is talky but there are also lots of people talking in the songs, the climax of elevator operator is even when the elevator operator talks back

like 1 in every 3 links/headlines/tweets i've seen on the internet this week includes the words "Courtney Barnett"

Good for her! She was very humble and self-deprecating when I saw her last year.

Yeah her persona feels very low-key (dunno where bendy gets "aggressive" from). Not my #1 favourite album of the year but it's very solid and if she blows up/becomes "the next" Sheryl Crow I'm happy for her.

What Alfred said. I've been thinking a lot about why I like this album and when I think it's because she's closer to Sheryl Crow than Liz Phair.

yeah, i knew that would come off snarky/negative, but i'm stoked for her. love her and her music. she rules. but man she is seriously buzzing right now

Aggressive isn't the word for it, yeah. But I get a lot of pent-up emotion and defiance beneath her laconic delivery.

shout out to anyone else who rides the 96 to work; kinda decided i loved the album after she dropped that line

i like the whole thing but "pedestrian at best" stands way out to me. i get that her appeal is as a lackadaisical chronicler of the quotidian but when her delivery is louder and fiercer and more like that of an inspired pulpiteer she becomes way more exciting to me (i mean, way to make lines like "I'm a fake / I'm a phony / I'm awake / I'm alone / I'm homely / I'm a Scorpio" sound like gospel)

just realised i already posted about how much i love "pedestrian at best" about 30 posts ago, sorry all

Wow, this is good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqP3ICzc7eg

"Numbers stand for routes of buses" as an argument for the importance of numbers :D

i used to take the 96

didn't see CB on there tho

this new album is great, thank u ILM

i must confess, i've made a mess of what should be a small success

^^

i like her a lot

pretty great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKQ5P7vBIwc

cambridge show was fun, although shame we had to leave early to catch a train :-/

Among the things I do now is perform a bar quiz every Wednesday evening. One of the nicest parts of the gig is I get to play music from my library when I'm not reading questions or answers. Last night I got into the sound system early and treated my patrons to the first three tracks from Sometimes I Sit... I walked around the place to make sure the speakers were working, and to hear those songs coming out loud and clear in a suburban Texas yuppie bar felt so damn good.

"she looks him up and down with a botox frown"

really looking forward to (slowly) learning the lyrics on this album, she is so good

this was #1 on my CMJ Core station last week

… with death

More raucous live, with slightly quieter moment being solo encore take on You Am I's "Heavy Heart." They also did a sloppy fun take on Breeders "Cannonball"

For those who thinks she sounds like Sheryl Crow, Sheryl would put her fingers in her ears for much of the set and head out quickly if she ever saw Courtney live. Much more Nirvana-eque