In 2015, after signing to Mom + Pop Music in Brooklyn, Courtney Barnett released her debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. The album has vastly increased production value compared to her previous EPs, and it establishes her unique sound as a fantastic songwriter.
Barnett is an Australian singer-songwriter and former guitarist for music groups including grunge band Rapid Transit and Australian country band Immigrant Union. In 2013, Barnett released a double EP off of Milk! Records, which she had privately formed in 2012.
Entitled A Sea of Split Peas, the album included an EP from 2012 and another she had written in 2013. The 12-track album established her as a garage grunge songwriter with a tendency for musical exploration.
Barnett demonstrates a keen ability to blend a range of musical styles and subjects throughout the entirety of her album. While her double EP mainly employed a grungier garage style of indie punk, this recent album explores new time signatures and a variety of stylistic changes.
Guitars are featured heavily across the album, from the fuzzy drudge rhythms of “Pedestrian at Best” to the sad acoustic picking of “Boxing Day Blues,” while percussion ranges from melodic ballads to grunge punk.
With themes ranging from trying to swim faster and impress someone in the lane next to you, to coping with the middle-class struggles of home mortgages, coffee quality and organic vegetables, Barnett’s lyricism ambles and roams through jumbled thoughts and subjects.
By moving between subjects such as suicide and Sin City in the same verse, she blends triviality and philosophy in a way that is reminiscent of early Dylan.
The track “Depreston,” one of the more incredible tracks on the album, uses brush drums and creates a beautifully airy, folk-like feeling. “Elevator Operator,” the opening track on the album, is based on a friend who sat on the roof of a building every day to enjoy the view and was once stopped by a stranger who thought about committing suicide. Its narrative sets the tone, which can only be described as mystified lethargy. This tone is explored throughout each track.
“Small Poppies” features a ballad rhythm accompanied by a sluggish lead guitar and a trilling solo, which cascades over beautiful chord progressions. It touches on the issues of self-confidence, being used in a relationship and learning about oneself. Barnett’s lines range from inspiring to violent, ending in the line “I dreamt I stabbed you with a coat hanger wire.”
Barnett’s passivity and listless approach toward darkness is clearly displayed in this track. She is able to casually yet poignantly portray the thoughts that she has when her mind roams freely. This lyrical quality is an incredible aspect of her sound, which is expanded upon greatly over the course of the album.
The spiritual peak of this album, and the track which most embodies Barnett’s philosophy, is “Kim’s Caravan.” The song takes place during a walk on a beach. While listening, one can imagine the narrator reflecting on human pollution.
The song then turns into a contemplation of how difficult it can be to interpret human connections.
“I am just a reflection / Of what you really wanna see / So take you want from me,” she sings.
This lyric discusses how we can never truly understand one another since our own views on life are so subjective. True empathy is not possible. Ticking percussion, a strong bassline and picked guitars lead the song into a grunge-ridden punk bridge and embody the intensity of the spiritual message conveyed by the track.
With her most recent album, Barnett has crafted a beautiful piece of modern indie punk and has notably developed her own unique sound. Her lyrics are raw and relatable, touching on the most minor of issues and acknowledging that while they are not problems that matter in the grand scheme of life, they occupy her mind nevertheless.
When listening to the album, it feels as if one is going about an ordinary day entirely inside one’s own head. Dwelling on minor issues and allowing herself to reflect on anything she pleases — often without purpose — Barnett weaves larger spiritual themes with small experiences. She includes diverse musical complexity in accessible yet profound tracks.
Overall, this album is a large improvement from her previous work, both in terms of production and songwriting. Sometimes I Sit and Think, showcases both her talent and her vast potential as a musician.
