COURTNEY BARNETT
Things Take Time, Take Time (Marathon Artists)
Wry lyricism and witty couplets, all delivered in Courtney Barnett’s droll style, are present and correct on Things Take Time, Take Time – although the sonic palette is more adventurous on this cracker of a third album.
Here’s The Thing, a rumination on the conflicting emotions of a heavy break up, has the breezy Hawaiian vibes of Taken By Trees holding the guitar jangle aloft, to sweeten the bitterness. Before You Gotta Go also bears the raw wounds of a split, with the characteristic insight of “Don’t you know I’m not your enemy, maybe let’s cut out caffeine” over an uptempo guitar refrain echoing the lyrics.
Elsewhere Courtney and producer/drummer Stella Mozgawa (of Warpaint fame) accelerate down the autobahn with the motorik groove of Turning Green, a scruffy guitar solo sullying the chrome gleam. If I Don’t Hear From You Tonight} is a sweet love letter to the excitement of new romance: “If loving you’s a crime, then give me those front-page headlines.”
Best of all on Things Take Time, Take Time is the superb Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To, which combines the punch the air euphoria of War on Drugs and the heartwarming charm of C87, with acoustic guitar intertwining with uplifting Marr-sian melodies. This is a tweak to the Courtney Barnett formula to heal any union.
words CHRIS SEAL