Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit (Album Review)
Friday, 27 March 2015
Written by Laura Johnson
No growing pains here. ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’ is Courtney Barnett’s first LP, following up ‘The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas’, but there’s precious little evidence of inexperience. If anything, Barnett is, despite the lyric sheet’s claims to the contrary, supremely confident and in command of her voice.
Throughout she paints vivid, often hilarious, pictures, flitting effortlessly between arch storyteller and moments of introspective reflection. “Hair pulled so tight you can see her skeleton,” goes album opener Elevator Operator. “She looks him up and down with her botox frown.” An Illustration Of Loneliness (Sleepless In New York), meanwhile, takes a sombre tone and nods to her earlier work.
Pedestrian At Best, the first single to be released from the album, displays a new-found intensity and urgency to Barnett’s vocals and is another example of her cutting wit and clever wordplay: “I think you’re a joke, but I don’t find you very funny.”
Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party follows suit but with more considered delivery, displaying yet another string to Barnett’s bow as she steps beyond spoken word recitation alongside fuzzed up guitars.
In fact, it seems she can turn her hand to pretty much anything she likes, as shown on Small Poppies, a bluesy lament complete with wailing guitars and rousing melodies. Barnett is no three chord wonder and, although it clocks in at seven minutes, the song grips and doesn’t let go as her ode to self improvement unfolds. The same is true of Kim’s Caravan, which contains brilliant crescendos, choral vocals and, naturally, a further helping of distortion.
“Put me on a pedestal and I’ll only disappoint you,” Barnett cries on Pedestrian At Best. Not one bit. ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’ is a triumphant, unique and accomplished debut.
Courtney Barnett Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri March 27 2015 - BRIGHTON Concorde 2
Sat March 28 2015 - BRISTOL THE FLEECE
Sun March 29 2015 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Mon March 30 2015 - SHEFFIELD Leadmill
Tue March 31 2015 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE University
Thu April 02 2015 - GLASGOW Art School
Fri April 03 2015 - MANCHESTER Manchester Gorilla
Sat April 04 2015 - DUBLIN Whelans
Sun April 05 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Bodega Social Club
Tue April 07 2015 - CAMBRIDGE Junction 2
Wed April 08 2015 - NORWICH Waterfront
Thu April 09 2015 - LONDON Electric Ballroom
Fri April 10 2015 - LONDON Electric Ballroom
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