Album Review: 'Tell Me How You Really Feel' by Courtney Barnett

(Review published in ET)

Courtney Barnett recently released her second album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, and it’s as punchy and delectable as you’d expect.

Our favourite left-handed, Melbourne-based singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett has wowed us once again with her latest album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, touching on topics such as anger, insecurity, and intimacy, all while strumming along on her bluesy guitar. Surprisingly, Barnett has taken a preference to singing and prose over her typical talk-sing voice and diary-like lyrics that we see a lot of Australian musicians doing these days, and nobody’s mad about it. Nobody except me, it seems.

Courtney Barnett, owner/ founder of ‘Milk! Records’, won an ARIA in 2015 for ‘Best Female Artist’ and has also received worldwide recognition for her work, being nominated for a BRIT Award and a Grammy Award in 2016.

Tell Me How You Really Feel follows Barnett’s 2017 collaborative album with Philadelphia-based indie folk boy Kurt Vile. Lotta Sea Lice is a Sunday morning kind of record filled with lackadaisical guitars and warm, fuzzy vibes. This album was one of our first introductions to Barnett’s preference for singing over speaking in the lead up to her newest release.

It’s safe to say Barnett is well-loved, but being well-loved occasionally comes with more than a fair share of hateful trolls. Plenty of people have criticised her “lazy” methods of singing and lyricism. This may be where the inspiration for her latest album came from as Barnett has admitted to having trouble getting angry when she needs to, being someone who always sees the best in others. Songs such as ‘Nameless, Faceless’ and ‘I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch’ really channel her deepest, darkest hates, insecurities, and traumas. “Don’t you have anything better to do? I wish that someone would hug you. Must be lonely, being angry, feeling over-looked,” Barnett sings in ‘Nameless, Faceless’, showing her empathetic side before letting her frustration show in the chorus singing “I wanna walk through the park in the dark. Women are scared that men will kill them. I hold my keys, between my fingers.” It’s a really powerful call-out to men who intentionally make women feel uncomfortable and/or unsafe, so much so they can’t even walk through a public space at night without needing to prepare a makeshift weapon for their own protection. The delicate backing vocals combine with the thrashing of guitars and Barnett’s angry tone, making for an interesting juxtaposition of gentleness and fury.

Barnett also sings about her struggles with love, fights, and vulnerability. Being in a monogamous, occasionally long-distance relationship, due to both her and her partner’s full-on touring schedules, understandably has its ups and downs. ‘Walkin’ On Eggshells’ is the perfect example of this as Courtney, quite literally, can feel like she’s walking on eggshells within her relationship. “Walkin’ on eggshells gets tiring, pullin’ teeth, white knucklin’, n I don’t wanna hurt your feelings, so I say nothing,” Barnett sings. Bluesy piano and guitar twangs in the front of the song as her monotonous vocals rest in the background, a symbol perhaps of Barnett’s inability to speak up in the face of conflict.

One of her most melancholic songs, tonally and lyrically, is ‘Sunday Roast’, founded on atmospheric, mellow sounds of light guitar picking. The song opens with the words “Don’t come with your arms swinging, throw them around me. Some kind of sweet relief, I hope you never leave.” The instruments seem to form around her voice, becoming more muted and then building up as her lyrics glide from yearning to hopefulness. This song reminds me of driving down a highway on a gloomy afternoon, feeling glum and nostalgic.

Unsurprisingly, Barnett’s best tracks are the ones released in anticipation of her album: ‘Need A Little Time’, ‘Nameless, Faceless’, and ‘Sunday Roast’. ‘Need A Little Time’ is a song about taking a break when necessary, to avoid burning out or getting sad. “You seem to have the weight of the world upon your bony shoulders well, hold on, you need a little time out,” Barnett sings, describing her loved one’s struggles, and maybe even her own, with biting off more than they can chew and feeling a little too much as a result.

It was always going to be difficult for Barnett to beat her first album, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. She’s well-known globally for her song writing abilities; her talents in telling imaginative and enticing stories forms the basis for the majority of her songs. In this album, Barnett falls short of all that she is capable of, in my honest opinion. Barnett’s previous songs such as ‘Pedestrian At Best’ and ‘Depreston’ really packed an emotive punch, pushing the boundaries of vulnerability and story-telling in songs. We see a draw-back from her previous narrative-like lyrics and more of a lean towards repetitive prose, two considerably different writing styles.

Maybe, I’m just not willing to embrace this updated performance style of hers considering how much I connected with her old style. Her rambling nature and the way she observed and made up stories about others was so compelling and a refreshing sight to see within the Australian music scene. I was able to relate directly to her struggles with unrequited love and feeling lonely and unwanted. This album seems too far out of my reach in terms of her struggles with long-distance relationships and online trolls, making it harder to empathise and truly connect with Barnett.

In all, Tell Me How You Really Feel is a catchy album with some captivating lyrics and innovative instrumental progressions. Songs like ‘City Looks Pretty’, ‘Charity’ and ‘Nameless, Faceless’ bring me back to Barnett’s old style: calling people out, telling a story, and getting loud, sarcastic, and emotional about it to an impassioned, well-formed tune. While others like ‘I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch’ and ‘Walkin’ on Eggshells’ show refinement in her song writing, stripping back and using less instruments and more prose-like lyrics to convey her emotions.

If I were to rate this album, I’d give it a 7 out of 10.

Courtney Barnett and her band of fellas – Dave, Bones, and Dan – will be dropping by Adelaide on August 17^th for a gig at Thebarton Theatre. Tickets are still up for sale, so grab ‘em while you still can!