Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
Courtney Barnett\'s 2015 full-length debut established her immediately as a force in independent rock—although she\'d bristle at any sort of hype, as she sneers on the noise-pop gem \"Pedestrian at Best\": \"Put me on a pedestal and I\'ll only disappoint you/Tell me I\'m exceptional, I promise to exploit you.\" Warnings aside, her brittle riffing and deadpan lyrics—not to mention indelible hooks and nagging sense of unease with the world—helped put *Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit* into the upper echelon of 2010s indie rock. The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter stares at stained ceilings and checks out open houses as she reflects on love, death, and the quality of supermarket produce, making *Sometimes* a crowd-pleaser almost in spite of itself. Propulsive tracks like the hip-shaking \"Elevator Operator\" and the squalling \"Dead Fox\" pair Barnett\'s talked-sung delivery with grungy, hooky rave-ups that sound beamed in from a college radio station\'s 1995 top-ten list. Her singing style isn\'t conversational as much as it is like a one-sided phone call from a friend who spends a lot of time in her own head, figuring out the meaning of life in real time while trying to answer the question \"How are you?\"—and sounding captivating every step of the way. But Barnett can also command blissed-out songs that bury pithy social commentary beneath their distorted guitars—\"Small Poppies\" hides notes about power and cruelty within its wobbly chords, while the marvelous \"Depreston\" rolls thoughts on twentysomething thriftiness, half-glimpsed lives, and shifting ideas of \"home\" across its sun-bleached landscape. While the topics of conversation can be heavy, Barnett\'s keen ear for what makes a potent pop song and her inability to be satisfied with herself make *Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit* a fierce opening salvo.
A young writer with a working sense of humor and no apparent agenda, Courtney Barnett feels like a refreshing anomaly in 2015: smart but not intellectual, humble but not wimpy, into the past but not theatrical about it. Her debut album delivers on the promise of 2013's EP collection.
The praise that Australian songwriter Courtney Barnett received for her early EPs—repackaged for American release after resoundingly successful 2013 CMJ performances —tended to settle on her unique portrayals of everyday life. What’s become clear on Barnett’s proper debut album is how her ability to convey those…
For a so-called slacker, you can tell that Barnett has thought this stuff out thoroughly - it's more Seinfeld than Sebadoh.
The term “slacker-rock” pops up a lot in reviews of Courtney Barnett’s music, which is a shame. Not only is it a lazy…
Check out our album review of Artist's Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit on Rolling Stone.com.
Courtney Barnett can find profundity in the most banal of subject matter; Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit is full of subtle left turns
Just where did Courtney Barnett come from? One moment she's an anonymous Australian singer/songwriter with a tangled mop of hair, the next she's at the helm of the new grunge revival. For someone who has released only a few—relatively impressive—EPs,
Music Review: Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit.
The Australian singer-songwriter builds on her 2013 EPs with this nuanced debut album proper
Australian indie eccentric Courtney Barnett made a name for herself on her own terms through quirky songwriting that got stuck in your head as she got lost...
Review of the new Courtney Barnett album 'Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit,' available March 24th via Mom + Pop Music and Milk Records.
The Melbourne indie-rocker’s debut album mixes small-town stories and sharp humour to smart effect