CD Odyssey Disc 1873: Courtney Barnett

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

CD Odyssey Disc 1217: Courtney Barnett

Even though I don’t yet have all the 2018 albums I’m on the hunt for yet, if I wait any longer this list might not have that shiny New Year feel to it. So, without further ado, here are my Top 10 albums of 2018.

UPDATE - on April 19, 2019 I reviewed Lucius' album "Nudes" and realized I'd made a mistake excluding it. I include it below. Apologies to Anna St. Louis, who has now been bumped. I still love you, Anna. 

10. Camp Cope – How to Socialise & Make Friends

9. Brandi Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You

8. Cupkakke – Ephorize

7. Caroline Rose – Loner

6. Dessa – Chime

5. Zeal & Ardor – Stranger Fruit

4. Neko Case – Hell-On

3. Lucius - Nudes
2. Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer

1. St. Vincent – MassEducation

I reserve the right to continue to change this list as I am inspired by new discoveries or fresh listens, but these albums will not steer you wrong.

Here’s a 2018 release that was good, but didn’t make the cut.

Disc 1217 is… Tell Me How You Really Feel

Artist: Courtney Barnett

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover? What is the extreme version of the Giant Head cover? The Giant Face cover. Here we are confronted with Courtney Barnett’s Giant Face, as seen through a red filter.

How I Came To Know It: I loved Barnett’s previous release, “Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit” (reviewed back at Disc 905) and bought this album as soon as it came out, hoping for the best.

How It Stacks Up:  “Tell Me How You Really Feel” is OK, but not as good as Barnett’s earlier work. I have three albums by her and this one comes in…third.

Ratings:  3 stars

Courtney Barnett was never a paragon of optimism, but on “Tell Me How You Really Feel” she takes her blend of rock guitar and tortured self-examination to a new level. The songs are solid throughout but after a while it starts to wear you out emotionally.

The usual payback for such a dark journey is some self-discovery or maybe some kernels of wisdom but on “Tell Me How You Really Feel” it isn’t about solutions, it is just about sharing the problem. On her previous record, Barnett explores the same territory but that record comes with a wry smile and some self-deprecating humour. Here the self-deprecation is here, but minus the charm.

The guitar work is exceptional, and while Barnett doesn’t play anything too complicated, she plays with a depth of feeling that lends additional resonance to every song. The opening riff of “Charity” is thick and crunchy, sounding like it fell out of a seventies vinyl collection. Barnett rocks out like this often and when she does she gives the record its best moments.

I also dig the early eighties groove Barnett channels on “Help Your Self”. The song has a schmaltzy sway that had me imagining a bunch of dudes in Miami Vice white suits and loafers swinging their arms and snapping their fingers in the background. The song doesn’t even have cheesy finger snaps, but you feel like it could. When Barnett introduces some discordant but complementary guitar work into the mix she creates a great tension between confidence and false bravado.

When Barnett slips into pure ambient dirge, however, the record loses its energy. At those moments it is wearing, not so much capturing anxiety so much as that raw and bleary feeling when you’ve felt stress for so long you’re just numb. It is music for whatever comes after a tension headache.

There is a lot that can be learned when you’re down in the sadness well, but it is also good to pull some inspiration from the experience. Too often, this record chooses to observe and report on its wallow. It is maddening because there is some great stuff going on and I wanted it to be that much greater. On “Charity” when Barnett sings:

“Meditation just makes you more strung out
I wish you had a guru who told you to let it go
To let it go”

I found myself wishing the same for the record. Stripping some of the weight off of these songs would give it the exquisite balance she manages on “Sometimes I Sit…” “Tell Me How You Really Feel” is still a good record and there are many reasons why it has become a critical darling, but it didn’t speak to me with quite the same level of gravitas that it has for many others.

Best tracks: City Looks Frosty, Charity, Nameless Faceless, Help Your Self

CD Odyssey Disc 1195: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile

Over the last couple of days I explored a “best of 2008” album list with limited success. I picked ten albums on the list that intrigued me and gave them a chance to wow me. I was less than wowed. I only made it through three of them and only one – James McMurtry’s “Just Us Kids” will one day end up in my collection. The experience got me thinking what my favourite 2008 albums are. Here are ten that you should check out in no particular order:

• Bonnie Prince Billy “Lie Down in the Light”
• Drive-By Truckers “Brighter than Creation is Dark”
• Frank Turner, “Love, Ire & Song”
• Hayes Carll, “Trouble in Mind”
• Imelda May, “Love Tattoo”
• Laura Marling, “Alas, I Cannot Swim”
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Dig, Lazarus Dig!!!”
• Okkervil River, “The Stand Ins”
• Pack AD, “Funeral Mixtape”
• Sera Cahoone, “Only as the Day is Long”

OK, technically that was in alphabetical order. But check them out, and while you’re at it check out that James McMurtry record – it is also good. On with the next review!

Disc 1195 is… Lotta Sea Lice

Artist: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile

Year of Release: 2017

What’s up with the Cover? The artists in question with their preferred weapons. See how all the black and white is opposite, even down to the guitar design? It’s art! Vile is even holding his guitar backward to further the mirror effect. That’s right, dear reader: to southpaws like me and Courtney, it is the rest of you who are playing backwards.

How I Came To Know It: I like Kurt Vile and I like Courtney Barnett so when they put this album out it seemed a natural winner. I bought it having heard one song.

How It Stacks Up:  This is the only album they’ve put out together so it can’t really stack up.

Ratings: 3 stars

With its dreamlike layered sound and slowly developing songs “Lotta Sea Lice” is best enjoyed either stoned (like the National Post’s Marie-Danielle Smith explores here) or on headphones on a rainy day. I opted for the latter.

When I first saw that Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile have done an album together my immediate reaction was “of course they did!” The style of both artists - from their monotone vocal delivery to the big echoing sound of their guitars - is remarkably similar.

Listening to them play together is like hearing two awkward but thoughtful people find a friend. No more sitting in the corner of the cafeteria alone! The songs are full of raw explorations of uncertainty but it is done as if you are floating in warm water. A little duet here and there, and some complementary guitar work and suddenly you’re not so alone after all.

For the listener, the record creates a rainy day whimsy that absorbs you. The lyrics here are not terribly creative, but they have a stark honesty that perfectly matches their plain language. When on “Continental Breakfast” they throw in a funky metaphor like:

“Like better luck performin’

Telekinesis on a priestess”

Or the slightly quaint, slightly uncomfortable image of

“I was friendly with this girl,

Who insisted on touching my face”

That serves as the opener for “Untogether” the words stand out all the more; a sudden epiphany of language that then subsides into the gentle roll and pick of the guitar work.

For me the star of the record is the guitar work, particularly on the Kurt Vile numbers. His guitar is a sort of anti-siren that instead of leading you onto the rocks, just leads you out to sea where you find yourself a little lost, but chill with the experience.

While all this made for a pleasant listening experience, there were also times where the songs meandered a bit. To be fair, this sort of indie stoner rock is designed to meander, but there were times when I wanted a bit more out of the melody. At some point I wanted to stop just floating in the current and catch a wave into shore, and that isn’t what “Lotta Sea Lice” is about.

I think this music would be great to just chill out to while you are doing something else, but most of the time I think of music as an active listening experience and so for me “good when doing something else” is less of a selling feature than for some people. For all that, “Lotta Sea Lice” is a good record with some great guitar moments on it and worth a listen.

Best tracks: Over Everything, Continental Breakfast, Peepin’ Tom

CD Odyssey Disc 905: Courtney Barnett

I am home from a road trip to see my mom. It was a pretty good trip, and since I’d recently sold my car I splurged a little and rented a Mustang convertible. I’m more of a Camaro man, but those weren’t available.

The Mustang wasn’t the greatest car but it was still a fun drive. As soon as you don’t own your own car any opportunity to get behind the wheel becomes more enjoyable.

As is tradition, Sheila and I each picked four albums for our trip. Her (very excellent) choices were:

• Frank Turner “Tape Deck Heart”
• Hayes Carll “Lovers and Leavers”
• Lily Allen “It’s Not Me, It’s You”
• The Decemberists “The King is Dead”

My choices were:

• Frank Turner “Positive Songs for Negative People”
• Dick Dale “Checkered Flag”
• Tom Petty “Highway Companion”

My fourth choice was this next album, which I think it going to become a perennial road trip favourite.

Disc 905 is….Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

Artist: Courtney Barnett

Year of Release: 2015

What’s up with the Cover? A chair on a tile floor. Even though this cover looks amateurish it has a charm that’s hard to ignore.

How I Came To Know It: I don’t remember. This is surprising since I’ve only had this album for a few months.

How It Stacks Up:  I have two Courtney Barnett albums, although the other one is really two EPs released as a single CD. Regardless, “Sometimes I Sit and Think…” is the best of the two.

Ratings: 5 stars

If you crossed Beck’s rambling, sneaky-clever use of language with Liz Phair’s deadpan rock and roll style, you’d have something approaching Courtney Barnett.

Even comparing her to those two greats in the alternative rock world sells her short, though. “Sometimes I Sit and Think…” is a revelation. Barnett has reinvigorated everything good about mid-nineties rock, put her own twist on it and created a record that makes you think, makes you feel and makes you want to rock out all at once.

The record starts with the punk inspired “Elevator Operator,” a song with jump and energy and introduces you to Barnett’s slightly (but deliberately) flat singing style as she paints an affectionate picture of local loser Oliver Paul, twenty years old.

“Elevator Operator” also introduces you to Barnett’s grimy and beautiful guitar style, which hat manages to sound mangled and loose while always staying perfectly in the pocket. It has a deliberately fuzzed-out feel that can easily make a song sound muddy, but Barnett knows how to keep things hitting sharp and hard in just the right proportion to serve the song.

“Pedestrian at Best” is the album’s first hit (I expect more, if there is any justice in the world) and picks up where “Elevator Operator” leaves off, only with more fuzz and more glorious rock riffs. For all her easy access to rock goddess powers, Barnett has an endearing self-effacing quality. On “Pedestrian at Best” she notes “put me on a pedestal/and I’ll only disappoint you” – as though she is anticipating her coming fame and awkwardly trying to get all us fanboys to just chill out and enjoy the music. Like Beck, she’s a loser baby, but only in the way we all sometimes feel deep down if we’re being honest.

There are no bad songs on this record. Even the long rambling numbers like “Small Poppies” and “Kim’s Caravan” (both atmospheric and almost seven minutes long each) give your ears a break from all the awesome crunch of guitar; a chill out in a quiet back room so you can rejoin the party with renewed energy.

Speaking of parties, another favourite is “Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party” which perfectly captures that experience that comes over you around 8 or 9 p.m. on Friday when you’re not sure you want to be social. It is expressed simply as “I wanna go out/but I wanna stay home.” We’ve all been there. Sometimes you just want to chill out in front of the TV or with a good book. I usually end up going to the party anyway, but such is the life of the extrovert.

“Sometimes I Sit and Think…” knows how to demonstrate range in other ways as well. On the stripped down “Depreston” Barnett eschews the fuzz and lets the meandering melody speak for itself. It is the perfect approach for a song about a sad little town where real estate is cheaper for a good reason; no one wants to live there.

Barnett has a great ability to take mundane experiences and make them into thoughtful observations on life, the universe and everything, like this little section from “Dead Fox”:

“Jen insists we buy organic vegetables

And I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first

A little pesticide can’t hurt.

Never having too much money

I get the cheap stuff at the supermarket

But they are all pumped up with shit

A friend told me they stick

Nicotine in the apples.”

Not only does Barnett deliver these lines with the effortless perfection of a rap star, she matches it with just the right guitar-god groove.

“Sometimes I Sit and Think…” has only 11 tracks and is a tasteful 44 minutes long. Every song stands out individually, and Barnett explores a lot of different musical notions but the record never loses its cohesion. In an era of single-song downloads, it is refreshing to hear a record where the songs just belong with each other, without any filler.

I’ve found a lot of new music in recent years, but few albums have inspired me the way this one does. This is the rebirth of rock and roll and we should all be paying attention to the second coming with delight and even a little awe. Or maybe some aww…shucks. Courtney would probably prefer the latter, but something tells me she’s going to have to get used to adoration.

Best tracks:  All tracks