Courtney Barnett, I like her

The Footy Show didn't book her?

footy season hasn't started yet!

she's been around for years, surely could have played half a dozen times by now

crowding out Craig McLachlan's return slot

saw her last night at sxsw. was surprised a bit at how much she rocked, I had seen a live review that cast her show in a more psychedelic tint. really liked the new stuff, and there were a couple of honest to god pop songs in there as well, which I can't wait to hear. 3-piece show last night, but it was a BIG sound, and while there are probably a ton of guitars on record, live she does a good job of balancing rhythm and lead duties. played history eraser, are you looking after yourself and avant gardener off the double ep, and I'm guessing the bulk of the new one, with the exception of depreston-which probably would have dragged the pace a bit last night. if pedestrian is the biggest rocker on the new one I'd be surprised.

Was it a big crowd? Feels like she's getting a lot of buzz right now, would expect sxswers to respond.

200-300 maybe? Monday nights are weird to judge a crowd by, because interactive is winding down and music hasn't kicked off fully yet (Weds.).
which makes Mondays ideal for people like me trying get into a buzz show without the buzz crowds.

The album is streaming right now via iTunes which I don't use, report back please

yeah, listening to it on iTunes radio. What a pile of crap iTunes radio is-how does a company with $170-odd billion dollars sitting around have essentially stock photos for its channels?
That’s the best it can do? A magenta 'pop' icon? I would listen to 'ShamROCK' radio for the laughs, but I'm afraid the joke's on me.

After a couple of listens, I tend to think 'Sometimes I Sit and Think' is at its best when it's least predictable. 'Small Poppies' and 'Kim's Caravan' bring to mind Crazy Horse/Meat Puppets, and Small Poppies in particular is riveting. When she finished it last night she announced that she was terrified of playing that song ("I used to hate myself but now I think I'm alright")-it's perhaps the unhinged answer to the same question that 'Pedestrian at Best' addresses. Or maybe it just has a lot of changes. The super pop song is 'Debbie Downer', where she delivers some of her most pointed comments into an arrangement that recalls the Lucksmiths. Great stuff. This dynamic is probably summed up best by the 2 singles, Pedestrian at Best and Depreston; the former sounds like something she could write in her sleep at this point, but the latter, with its gentle guitars and subtle organ is incredibly moving. Still, she likes to rock out, and she's good at it, so who can complain? Not a huge step forward, but given how many other recent bands have wilted (The XX, Best Coast, The Pains, ad nauseam) or barely remained in place in the glare of today's Pitchfork/Twitter/ILX (heh) media spotlight, it's enough.

Do I hate her because I am Australian?

Yes

Possibly a dumb question, but it needs to be asked: is "Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit" the new "Tuesday Night Music Club"?

(I like her album, I'm just feeling an "All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun" vibe somehow)

Eagerly awaiting a Soak Up the Sun about dying seals.

Raymond, I hear Sheryl Crow too.

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)