At the end of a long day, there is always music. Here’s some that helped chill me out on a Tuesday evening.
Disc 1873 is… Things Take Time, Take Time
Artist: Courtney Barnett
Year of Release: 2021
What’s up with the Cover? Nine shades of blue paint. I’m not sure what the significance of this is, but I think the cover would’ve been better if someone had used those nine shades of blue paint to, you know, paint something.
I’m not picky about what to paint. The sky, the ocean, Smurfs, Dr. Manhattan. Something. There are plenty of options.
How I Came To Know It: I have been a Courtney Barnett fan from her early days, so this was just me buying her latest and hoping for the best.
How It Stacks Up: I have four Courtney Barnett albums, if you count the one that is technically two EPs taped together, which – in a move wholly counter to my decision with the band the Beaches – I do. “Things Take Time, Take Time” comes in at #2 out of those four.
Ratings: 4 stars
“Things Take Time, Take Time” is Courtney Barnett’s version of looking on the bright side. Relatively speaking. Don’t look for upbeat sunshine and good vibes all over the place, though. Barnett’s signature minor chord laden and down-dropping melodic style remains fully intact, and there’s plenty of drama to be had on the relationship front. It’s just a titch…happier.
Longtime readers will know that when I reviewed her previous record, “Tell Me How You Really Feel” (Disc 1217) her dirge-ridden style was good, but ultimately weighed me down. On “Things Take Time…” she delivers the same powerful and thoughtful musical mood rock, but with just enough brightness around the edges to keep up the momentum.
The result is a record that was a pleasant surprise. There isn’t anything special going on in the guitar work, but I love Barnett’s tone, which plays like the lean of a lazy motorcyclist, taking each corner nice and wide, but in full control throughout.
I found this record restful. Songs like “Here’s the Thing” are like a nice sit on a couch after a hard day, right before you put on the telly, when you’re still just enjoying the space, all homey and quiet and ready to receive and relieve your tension. Mirroring the guitar vibe on the song, Barnett’s usual flat low vocal delivery gives way to a light head voice that surprises and soothes.
My favourite track on the record is “Before You Gotta Go” a song that says both “I love you” and “I’m sorry” in such an artfully intertwined way you wanna just die from all the romance. Two warring concepts like that could make for a song that feels tense and uncertain, but Barnett applies a wise and easygoing vibe to the moment.
The song is aided by a very light production, with just a bit of reverb on the guitar and a bit of echo on the vocal. It creates a diffusion that takes the edge off of lyrics like:
“We got angry, said some careless things
Who was wrong, remains unclear
Pride like poison, always keepin' score
You don't have to slam the door”
And replaces it with a “hey, we’re angry, but let’s not be so angry we regret ourselves” feel. There is some angry storming out featured here, but there’s also a persistence to the relationship – a weak but strong quality that feels like emotional gravity. And while the song builds its energy and insistence as it progresses it never feels aggressive. A bit resigned, and with no guarantee that there is going to be a rapprochement, but still breathing enough oxygen into the situation that it could be possible.
Songs like “Take It Day By Day” have the emotionally distant but catchy phrasing that made her famous from earlier records, and the “old friend” experience of that in these tracks is welcome, maybe the more so when it is mixed with the chill “que sera sera” quality of the tunes that surround it.
Most of all I found myself regretting not putting this record on more often, because it was thoroughly delightful and filled with a thoughtful chill vibe. Barnett’s not saying everything’s going to be OK on this record, but she is saying that bad moments are easier managed when you eschew being battered by them in favour of letting them wash over you.
Best tracks: Rae Street, Here’s the Thing, Before You Gotta Go, Take It Day By Day, If I Don’t Hear From You Tonight
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