Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

I listened to this once high and once sober and it was completely euphoric both times. The perfect type of straightforward female led rock that I love so much. Everything on this was good from the spoken word type stuff to the slower, chiller stuff to the countryish stuff.

Nothing too next-level going on musically, but effective and straightforward rock on the lighter side. She has limited range vocally and that wears thin at length. Mostly catchy and engaging lyrics though they drift into monologuing. Generally I liked it.

Back in the mid 2010s I was looking for ways to expand my musical horizons in a world of singles and unlimited streaming and started listening to public radio’s Sound Opinions music radio show. This gave me exposure to bands I had not heard of as well as genres I had not thought to take interest in. At least one (and I think both) hosts were raving about this great album from Australia from Courtney Barnett, and so this was one of the first additions to my library from that effort. I found her to be really enjoyable in a genre that can easily turn on me in sort of the way Liz Phair is. For some reason I forgot about listening to it for the last 8 or so years but I had a little rush of happiness when this popped up here today. I put this on again and “where have you been for the last 8 years?!” Such energy and clever songs about life filled with delightful detail, Courtney has fun with the lyrics that make this a joy to listen to. Comparing the view from the top of a building to playing SimCity, this is so so satisfying to listen to. There’s a raw passion feel, it’s got elements of many genres that can easily annoy, but this is handled so perfectly even the noisy buts are so satisfying and enjoyable. Thank you for putting Courtney Barnett back in the active playlist and I’ll definitely be exploring more from this artist very soon.

So I'm about 1,250 albums into this list and the finishing line keeps creeping further away. I'm handing out quite a lot of 3-stars these days. The music is good, but I'm jaded and tired... ... and then come across this fantastic album from an artist I've never heard of. Thank you for recommending a real treasure. You give me the strength to go on.

Great album, I love it. Favourite song is Depreston, it really gets me going that one.

Smashing indie rock from Australia on the debut album of Courtney Barnett. A lot of talk-singing in a nice and original way with great songwriting.

Listened to this one a good deal in the summer of 2015 after it dropped, and for good reason. This is by far Courtney’s best album across the board, both as a songwriter and instrumentalist. Each track builds out a well-defined world painted in strokes both broad and incredibly detailed, where even the smallest throwaway line contributes toward the sardonic point Barnett is making. Couple this with guitar work that knows when to lay back and when to absolutely shred, and you have a delightfully fun, breathing LP that feels alive while captures the dilute existential malaise that characterized the mid-teens. Great add!

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Pedestrian at best, Small poppies, Aqua profunda!, Dead fox

Sometimes, I sit and think about how much I enjoy this album

I dig this rock and roll

Such a great album. I love Courtney Barnett but had kind of forgotten about her, so thanks for the reminder! 4 stars.

The strength of Courtney is her lyrics. Evert song makes a little story.

more aussie indie rock greatness - and incredibly good for a debut

I like Courtney Barnett! This was a good listen. I like her chilled out voice and vibe. A pleasure

Solo acts/singer-songwriter music living or dying for me based entirely on the backing music. She did good work here

Indie rock, slacker rock. Ni fu ni fa.

I remember when this album came out and it was pretty beloved. And upon seeing this I thought I haven’t heard about Courtney much since. Either way this album is the one that put her on the map. The lyricism is extensive and well done. The instrumentals do a fine job of complimenting the lyricism while being unique and familiar. Overall it’s a good album that has a wide range of appeal. 6.7/10

This was pretty fun with great energy. Some of the lyrics get a bit too granular for my taste, but overall I enjoyed it. Fave Songs: Small Poppies, Depreston, An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York), Pedestrian at Best, Elevator Operator, Debbie Downer

A nice gentle album for a Monday morning, except I was listening to it on a Tuesday morning.

I’m sitting right now too

Courtney Barnett is one of those people I'm making fun of when I put shit on Melbourne. Is she from Melbourne? Don't know, don't care. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. The one thing I've always heard about Barnett is her lyrics - apparently her adlib-stream-of-consciousness style lyrics are more than just that. They're not. They're just shonky indie rock lyrics. Is there really so much more to "going to the movies, drinking all the smoothies", or "I don't really know who I am but I'm trying" that I'm just not seeing? a 15 year old could have written that, and oh god there are SO MANY MORE examples of these horrendous rhymes and things that are meant to be poignant but just simply aren't. The music isn't any better than the lyrics. Song to song it does much the same thing. Sometimes a little upbeat, sometimes a little downbeat, repetitive and mostly just 90s DIY indie type-sounds. The music is more a vehicle for her lyrics anyway, I think. I dunno, 2/5. At the end of the day it's mostly just bland indie singer-songwriter stuff that really shouldn't be much more than open mic/busker material, but good luck telling the brains trust at Triple J that.