Courtney Barnett Songs Ranked
Courtney Melba Barnett (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris in 2012. International interest came with the release of her EP The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas in 2013. Barnett’s debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit was released in 2015 to widespread acclaim. At the 2015 ARIA Music Awards, she won four awards from eight nominations. She was nominated for Best New Artist at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and International Female Solo Artist at the 2016 Brit Awards. She released Lotta Sea Lice, a collaborative album with Kurt Vile, in 2017. She released her second album Tell Me How You Really Feel to further acclaim in 2018. Here are all of Courtney Barnett’s albums ranked.
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10. Debbie Downer (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“Debbie Downer, track nine, incorporates a much more upbeat tone. Featuring an ‘Arcade Fire’ or ‘Doors’ like keyboard, Courtney’s lyricism continues to describe the aforementioned themes across tracks 3-5, which are furthered still with the slightly anxious approach paired with the general insecurity we’ve come to expect at this point in the album. A rather jarring combination of melody and lyrics, to perfectly encapsulate the happy sadness of the day to day.”
9. Small Poppies (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“The lyrics may seem very depressing, but they are actually sincere words from an exploration of the existentialism of today’s urban life. And come on, the music is not bad at all. I love Small Poppies. This sincerity in the lyrics and not the pretense of trying art (when you sing lyrics like these, it’s just there) is what should be learned the most, not only for music in general, but for the urban human being.”
8. Dead Fox (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“A special note on Dead Fox, an exceptionally clever take on the trucking industry (of all topics) as a network for big business and it’s impact on so many facets of society. Filled with entendre and cool reverse track guitars, somehow Barnett never comes across as preachy, but almost like she’s learning about these issues as she’s telling her stories.”
7. Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“Unencumbered by the unpleasant experiences described in the last two tracks, such as public embarrassment or near-death experience, the eighth track, Courtney finds where place. Aptly titled ‘Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party’, there is little to explain which isn’t already done so by the track title itself.”
See more: Courtney Barnett Albums Ranked
6. An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless In New York) (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“Its full of amusing lyrics, which is imo what it does best. Musically its not particularly great, the vocals are average and the rhythmn section is content with playing mediocre indie rock. Its very ironic, but unlike say Pavement, the melodies aren’t really all that memorable to back it up. Still a solid listen.”
5. Avant Gardener (The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas 2013)
“The woman who taught me a lot about what I know about bartending and exhibiting strength through personal hardship told me this song essentially summed up her life before pressing play, and it was impossible to disagree with the statement. But even without that personal-by-proxy connection to it, the song stands on its own as a tribute to everything Pavement, the Smiths, that dog. and Sleater-Kinney stood for. Great riffs, great hooks, great storytelling and great characters. There are two or three essentially cathartic moments in this song, more than most ever care to pursue, and in the lulls there is still just so much to indulge in.”
4. Elevator Operator (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“Normally I prefer Courtney Barnett when she takes the garagier, fuzzier approach, but Elevator Operator is a great little pop nugget with one of the catchiest choruses about possibly jumping to your death that I’ve ever heard (second only to Sleater-Kinney’s Jumpers)”
3. Depreston (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“The sort of song that everyone ought to be able to relate to, detailing how Courtney Barnett and her girlfriend are looking for a place and for the life of them, cannot find one that is affordable or, y’know, livable. At every turn, Courtney tries to keep optimistic by looking on the bright side of things: saving twenty-three dollars by not buying lattes at Starbucks; “a garage for two cars to park in / Or a lot of room for storage if you’ve just got one”; “Aren’t the pressed metal ceilings great?”; just the way she fucking sings it, too. And there’s something about how she keeps that pose up even though there clearly isn’t a bright side (“a California bungalow in a cul-de-sac“) that strikes me as incredibly sad, even sadder than if she had just gone around moping the entire song about how there was nowhere to live.”
2. History Eraser (The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, 2013)
“The hook is really dinky on this one – maybe I just want Courtney Barnett to be singing the hooks on my Courtney Barnett songs. “You said ‘we only live once’ so we touched a little tongue, and instantly i wanted to” is a smart lyric.”
1. Pedestrian At Best (Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, 2015)
“A highlight from Barnett’s excellent debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, “Pedestrian at Best” finds the Australian singer-songwriter in clattering garage rock mode. The track has a raw quality that pairs well with Barnett’s sharply sarcastic writing, all without abandoning the introspective element that made her earlier work so endearing.”
