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Courtney Barnett Releases New Album 'Things Take Time, Take Time'

The release is Barnett's third studio album.

By: Nov. 12, 2021
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Courtney Barnett Releases New Album 'Things Take Time, Take Time'  Image

Today, acclaimed artist Courtney Barnett releases her third studio album Things Take Time, Take Time on Mom+Pop Music / Marathon Artists. The album is a finely-woven collage of snapshots recorded at a time of creative renewal and deeper understanding for Barnett, signalling an exciting new chapter for a musician who is operating at the very peak of her powers.

Already receiving critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, New York Times, NPR, Consequence and more, Things Take Time, Take Time sees Barnett consolidating her place in the storied global lineage of ground-breaking and influential singer-songwriters.

Album opener (and first single) "Rae Street" sets the tone beautifully, a gentle, mid-tempo essay that deconstructs the push-pull of companionship in today's increasingly fractured society, particularly with the memorable chorus of "time is money; and money is no man's friend". And yet it is no diatribe, let alone solipsistic musing; in Barnett's hands the plaintive lyrics become intensely, strikingly alive, a work of radical honesty that uses the most intimate, mundane of experiences ("in the morning I'm slow / I drag a chair to the window") as a way of prying open the way in which the human need to connect is often lost amidst the white noise.

Elsewhere, "Before You Gotta Go" is a love song the way only Barnett could write it, simultaneously moving and spiky, with the gorgeous refrain of "if something were to happen my dear, I wouldn't want the last words you hear to be unkind" in particular striking a deep and resonant chord, while the album's other single, "Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To", is an intricately introspective track, painting a bittersweet picture of the circle of life, striking the chord between wistfulness and acceptance as she croons "nobody knows why we keep trying / and so on it goes, I'm looking forward to the next letter that I'm gonna get from you".

Release week has also seen the launch of the gorgeous "If I Don't Hear From You Tonight" video, a delightful visual companion to Barnett's one true unabashed love song to date, featuring a performance in Joshua Tree accompanied by album co-producer/ creative kindred spirit Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint, Kurt Vile) and acclaimed Welsh songwriter Cate Le Bon, who performed bass on the song.

In her own words - "I think my stance in the past was like, 'There's so many love songs and they don't mean anything,' but there's something really special about zooming in on a moment and capturing it. "'If I Don't Hear From You Tonight' comes from the state of where my head was at - trying to communicate honestly instead of keeping [my feelings] guarded."

The album is a journey through heartbreak, recovery, and all the soft moments in between that speak to feelings and experiences so innately human and so innately Courtney Barnett, like Zoom friendships and satellites drifting through a summer's sky. It's no wonder Courtney has achieved such legendary status throughout her career; she understands the human need for comfort and self-reflection so perfectly and applies it to her aptly-created songs to create bodies of work that withstand the test of time.

Listen to the new album here:



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