Courtney Barnett will tell You how she really feels
Australian indie rocker Courtney Barnett gained recognition in 2013 upon the release of The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas which is a compilation of her two first Eps. When her first proper debut album, Sometimes I sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit came out it quickly became critically acclaimed and was featured on many of the best albums of the year lists in 2015. After constantly touring Barnett Joined forces with Kurt Vile in 2017 and recorded an album titled Lotta Sea Lice, and performed a limited string of shows together in the United States.
Barnett’s latest album, Tell Me How You Really Feel was released on May 2018. While her previous albums featured a more casual lyrical content, Tell Me brings in more serious topics such as abusive relationships, loneliness, anxiety, and trying to live up to the expectations of others, all this while still maintaining her unique sense of imagery and delivery. This album shows an evolution from her previous works as some of the songs tend to gravitate to a new sound soaked in psychedelia.
A night previous to the last show of her United States tour, Barnett performed at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. Waxahatchee was the supporting act for the whole U.S Tour.
When Barnett took the stage it was all red except for the silhouette that outlined the singer and the rest of the band members. She started with “Hopefulessness” the opening track from Tell Me and then played “City Looks Pretty” while still maintaining the same red lighting ambiance which plays a motif with the cover art of the album. As the set progressed and she began to play older songs such as “Avant Gardener” the stage was still almost dark except for the throbbing stage-lights that accompanied Barnett’s fierce guitar riffs. Barnett is not one to stay still during her set and moves around a lot creating stage presence similar to that of Kurt Cobain. During the Encore Courtney performed a rendition of Nashville songwriter Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free” that she managed to make it completely her own, and then finished off with the much-awaited performance of “Pedestrian at Best”.
Courtney Barnett proves herself as one of the best performers of her generation as she fights to keep rock music alive.
Coverage by Jorge Sierra
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