Following the release of her excoriating attack on keyboard warriors, ‘Nameless/Faceless’, the inimitable Courtney Barnett is back with a more reflective single in ‘Need A Little Time’ from her forthcoming album, ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’.
This song has all the hallmarks of Barnett’s droll, personal lyrics that poetically capture her unique perspectives on the ordinary and mundane things in life in a beautiful package. There are real signs of growth and development – the song has lush instrumentation and a lilting, melancholic melody.
There seems to be a common theme developing in both singles on the impact of fame and the loss of privacy that comes with it: ‘I don’t know a lot about you but, you seem to know a lot about me so, I take a little time out…‘
‘Need A Little Time’ is accompanied by a video by Barnett’s frequent visual collaborator Danny Cohen.
Cohen says “Need A Little Time has this soaring, floating feeling to it. I decided to play on the meaning of the song, Courtney needs some time away from herself (and you). I didn’t want to show Courtney leaving her friends/family/fans etc, it needed to be more metaphorical. Courtney floats through space and time, ends up in some isolated part of the universe. She finally has found some time alone, just Courtney and her guitar, singing in space without a care in the world.”
It beautifully presents Barnett being isolated and different from her environment – a pawn who is poked and prodded by aliens but who ultimately finds joy alone in deep space – capturing the journey of the song itself from quiet and contemplative to its loud, jangly celebratory chorus and finale.
It’s wonderful stuff from the Bard of Melbourne. You can pre-order the forthcoming album, due out on May 18th through Marathon Artists and Barnett’s own label Milk! Records here.
You can catch Barnett on tour throughout North America and Europe, and get tickets here:
USA Album Launch Shows
Sun 29th April – Fort Worth, TX at Fortress Festival
Fri 4th May – Atlanta, GA at Shaky Knees Festival
Sun 6th May – San Francisco, CA at August Hall (SOLD OUT)
Thur 10th May – Los Angeles, CA at The Sanctuary at Pico Union (SOLD OUT)
Mon 14th May – Austin, TX at Saengerrunde Hall (SOLD OUT)
Wed 16th May – Philadelphia, PA at Union Transfer (SOLD OUT)
Sat 19th May – Brooklyn, NY at Music Hall of Williamsburg (SOLD OUT)
Mon 21st May – Chicago, IL at Preston Bradley Hall (Tiffany Dome) (SOLD OUT)
Europe/UK
(+ with Loose Tooth – https://www.facebook.com/loosetoothmusic/)
Fri 25th May – Belfast at BBC’s Biggest Weekend
Tues 29th May – Leeds at O2 Academy +
Wed 30th May – Brussels at Ancienne Belgique +
Thu 31st May – Utrecht at Tivoli Vredenburg Ronda +
Sat 2nd June – Glasgow at Barrowlands +
Sun 3rd June – London at All Points East Festival
Mon 4th June – Manchester at Academy +
Tues 5th June – Bristol at O2 Academy +
Wed 6th June – London at Roundhouse +
Sat 9th June – Paris at Bataclan +
Sun 10th June – Luxembourg at Den Atelier +
Mon 11th June – Berlin at Astra Kulturhaus +
Wed 13th June – Cologne at Live Music Hall +
USA/Canada
Tues 10th July – Toronto, ON at Danforth Music Hall
Weds 11th July – Ottawa, ON at Ottawa Blues Festival
Thurs 12th July – North Adams, MA at MASS MoCA
Sat 14th July – Columbus OH at Newport Music Hall
Sun 15th July – Louisville, KY at Forecastle Festival
Tues 17th July – St. Louis, MO at The Pageant
Wed 18th July – Kansas City, MO at Truman
Sat 21st July – Minneapolis, MN at Surly Brewing Festival Field
Tues 24th July – Washington DC at The Anthem
Wed 25th July – Brooklyn, NY at Prospect Park Bandshell
Sat 28th July – Newport, RI at Newport Folk Festival
