BeatRoute Magazine BC Print Edition May 2018

MUSIC REVIEWS
COURTNEY BARNETT
Tell Me How You Really Feel
Mom + Pop/ Marathon Artists/ Milk!
Tell Me How You Really Feel is an open invitation
from Courtney Barnett as she gains momentum
with her sophomore release. Following her 2015
debut full length, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and
Sometimes I Just Sit, and fresh off the heels from
touring with her musical twin Kurt Vile on the
collaboration Lotta Sea Lice in late 2017, Barnett
has come up with a refreshing and edited version
of herself. This trajectory of maturity rounds out
any uneasy feelings one might have about her style
of reserved monotone melodies, lyrical ramblings
and run-on strumming that made it on her first
album.
It seems Barnett may have had similar uneasy
feelings while writing this record. The track
“Crippling Self Doubt and a General Lack of
Self-Confidence” is used as a blunt cathartic
stamp of words saying just that. In her pursuit
of being forthright with these feelings, she has
noticeably stirred up some inner anger. In the song
“Nameless, Faceless” she uses a loose quote from
Margaret Atwood: “Men are afraid that women
will laugh at them/women are afraid that men
will kill them,” and then goes on to say “I walk
with my keys between my fingers,” woven into an
otherwise pop-centric grunge tune. It’s unclear
if she’s directly speaking to the present feminist
climate or possibly just haters online, but the
sharper edge suits the already cheeky attitude in
her lyrics. Again, in the track “I’m Not Your Mother,
I’m Not Your Bitch” she releases a pointed tone to
whatever she perceives to be that opposition with
the snarky “I hear you mutter under your breath/
put up or shut up it’s all the same/ never change
never change.” Whether Barnett is letting off steam
or not, she’s a benevolent artist and the catharsis is
personal yet easily relatable. Better out than in.
In spite of her crippling doubt, Barnett’s vocal
range on this record has progressed into sounding
more seasoned, both sweet and savoury. Her time
writing and touring the album with Kurt Vile
seems to have refined her melodies and guitar
fills relieving some pressure from putting out a
substantial second release after the fast success of
the first. In “Need a Little Time” she presents her
quiet pretty singing voice with catchy ‘eeeeee’s and
‘ooooo’s that really lift her listenability in contrast
to the steady rap like talking from the 2015 release.
It is a standout single and a self-care anthem
perfect for the shower or car sing-alongs.
There are guitar sounds on this record that also
brings out the feels. She is known to play guitars
like a Harmony or a Telecaster, which lends her a
basic, yet rootsy-grungy sound that she manages
to spread evenly over the ten songs. There is a
tempo breakdown in a jangly Velvet Underground
inspired “City Looks Pretty” that showcases what
a soulful rock guitarist with deep pop sensibilities
she is, and only getting better. Then, going back
to “I’m Not Your Mother...” Barnett rides the line
between grunge rock and punk riffs. Knowing she
executes this simple but perfectly rhythmic guitar
hammering all the while playing lefty, with no
pick, gives off the feelings of authenticity and solid
musicianship. Hearing more of that guitar flare
filling space in the songs and less words, proves she
is showcasing her natural talent more confidently
and it also makes for a more light-hearted listen.
When you have as many feelings as Courtney
Barnett, it’s hard to sum it all up without some
redundancies and repeats, but for now her
modesty and self-awareness has been keeping her
relevant and a trusted Melbourne musical export.
• S. Sheppard
• Illustration by Carole Mathys
May 2018 27