CD of The Week

After months of riding a small collection of existing material, Courtney Barnett has finally released her proper debut album, and a great one at that. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, much like its creator, is a grower. The brilliance and irresistibility embedded into the clever nuances of each song reveal themselves more clearly with repetition and careful listening. Pulling inspiration from snippets of Barnett's own life and the world as it revolves around her, the album unfolds in a range of complex emotions and thoughts like a detailed schematic of her mind's inner workings. Rooted in grunge and indie rock of the 90's and early 00's, the diverse grouping of songs is united by Barnett's sardonic tone, vivid description, and general desire to search for an underlying meaning in commonplace situations.

"Pedestrian At Best" and "Depreston" epitomize the album's strong points and Barnett at her best. The raging irony blasting through the blitzkrieg of the former counteracts the introspective rumination on house hunting and the transience of life in the latter. The album's opener, "Elevator Operator," is a jangling pop using the explicit storytelling style of her breakthrough hit "Avant Gardener.” Crisp, defined, and witty, it sets the playful and empathetic tone for the rest of the album. "Aqua Profunda!" echoes the same narrative style later in the album with a short and honest ditty about her lack of athleticism in a swimming pool where she "sunk like a stone/like a first owner's home loan."

Barnett uses several tracks on the album to sort out her own feelings in particular moments that are relatable to anyone in their mid-to-late 20's. Following her wandering eye around a motel room in NYC, "An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in NY)" paints a picture of the surge of isolation and longing that has overcome Barnett on her first long trip away from her partner. "Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go to the Party" finds her fighting the great introvert fight with an especially gnarly guitar part tucked in the middle. "Dead Fox" and "Debbie Downer" disclose sides of Barnett we haven't seen quite as obviously before. Tackling a myriad of societal debates alive and well in her home country, "Dead Fox" runs through her thoughts on everything from organic vegetables to roadkill as a metaphor for the powers of big business. And it’s hard not to relate to the continuously fluctuating balance of self-awareness and self-doubt of "Debbie Downer."

Masquerading as simplicity, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit very patiently carves guitar-heavy grooves of mundane tales in their most profound state. While her music has been previously described as slacker rock, Barnett proves to be painstakingly precise in the word choice, flow, and feeling of the album as a whole. Her rambling, ordinary phrases blossom into insightful observations that are as relatable as they are profound while searing guitar lines, wittingly plucked bass, and artful percussion tell their own story beneath. An ideal soundtrack to sitting and thinking, it's an album of everyday epiphanies worth diving into headfirst. Courtney Barnett will be joined by Chastity Belt for CB + CB tour coming to Union Transferon June 15th.