Track Attack: Courtney Barnett’s ‘Need A Little Time’ Is Satisfyingly Sleek

Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff

courtney need a little time

On Courtney Barnett‘s second single from her upcoming album Tell Me How You Really Feel, the loose-fitting quality of her 2015 breakout Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit has been fastened, resulting in one of her sleekest tracks yet. The Australian songwriter doesn’t sacrifice any of her charm on this one, nor her bite, as there are a couple of serrated guitar solos and a brawny twinge of distortion that poke through what’s otherwise a creamy highway-rock song. You know, like the kind of track that her and Kurt Vile collaborated on last year’s Lotta Sea Lice, which ostensibly inspired some of the writing on this one.

When she wasn’t bouncing through peppy indie-rockers like “Elevator Operator” and “Aqua Profunda!” on Sit, she was paddling her way through long, soft slow-burners that let out into psych-rock coves when she was good and ready—often unpredictably, as if travelling through choppy water. On “Need A Little Time,” Barnett alternates between what’s become her beloved lounginess and her peculiar pep, finding a sweet spot between the two in just four minutes.

Between this and the stinging alt-rocker “Nameless, Faceless,” Barnett’s proven that her unique sense of melody has only sharpened over the last couple years. Hopes are high that this will be one of the year’s best.

Eli Enis | @eli_enis


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