Last year I bought two Courtney Barnett EPs (together in one set) and utterly adored them
both. They weren’t eligible for the
list, of course, but 2015 saw her debut album’s release. I bought it with some trepidation as I wasn’t
sure how it could possibly be as good as the EPs. It turned out to be better than either. The Australian singer-songwriter is a
seriously impressive artist, and her songs are consistently superb in all
respects. The lyrics are outstanding
throughout (touching, funny and unique on every track), the guitar feels raw
and ‘live’, and the songs as a whole are all deceptively simple gems. Barnett’s
sound has elements of surfer rock and indie, but she really transcends
genre. Her band are super too (that surfer
bass is irresistible, dude!). Stand out
tracks include the ode to selfishness and human failing of ‘Pedestrian at Best’
and the twinkling and bittersweet rumination on moving to the country that is
‘Depreston’. But this is an album with no
weak songs and eleven brilliant ones. Another
absolute must have.
sample track: Depreston
sample track: Depreston
