CD of The Week

Courtney Barnett is nothing if not self-aware. The blasé biographical quality of her songwriting has been a charming trademark of all of her output for the better part of 15 years, one that anchored artistic wanderlust through songs and albums that echoed the best of everyone from Kurt Cobain to Kurt Vile, the latter of whom even joined her for a full collaborative effort back in 2018. Her latest album, the knowingly titled Creature of Habit, addresses that wanderlust head-on, and the result is her loosest, least encumbered album since her debut.

Fittingly, the album's restlessness comes out of a time of various simultaneous upheavals in Barnett's life. The shuttering of her longtime label Milk! and a move to Los Angeles from her native Melbourne clearly have her feeling introspective about her trajectory and unsure of how to proceed. Lead track "Stay In Your Lane" is as self-explanatory as one can get in terms of how she's proceeding. Indeed, we're sonically back in the sunny strums and jangle pop of The Double EP, though she's managed to unlock some surprising post-punk pockets in that sound. "Same,” another winking title, even sports sleek synths that add a subtle chill to the usual churn.

The self-examination doesn't stop with her artistic journey. "Wonder" drops insecurities about what other people really think and say about her into a deep puddle of dream pop, while "Sugar Plum" offers a picture of burnout and overwhelm that feels all too universal. Don't worry, though. Barnett has the right idea for a way forward. 

"Site Unseen," a twangy duet with kindred spirit Waxahatchee, questions whether any real change is possible once you're past a certain point in life, before wisely saying the question doesn't need an answer anytime soon. "Let's figure out the rest another day." Indeed, we're all still figuring it out. Courtney is too, but Creature of Habit proves she's still got good laurels to rest on till she does.

Courtney Barnett returns to Philadelphia this spring at The Fillmore on May 12th with Momma.