triple j Pick of the Week – Courtney Barnett

COURTNEY BARNETT
Pedestrian At Best

There’s no doubt that on both the international and local stage, one of the biggest Australian success stories from the past 18 months is the ever charming, antipodean word-smith Courtney Barnett. Late last week just as she was kicking off the national Laneway Festival tour, Courtney dropped the first official taste of her debut album, the single Pedestrian At Best, premiered on triple j Breakfast with Matt & Alex.

As you would expect, Pedestrian At Best follows Courtney’s trademark and quintessentially Australian flavour of song writing and storytelling, but unlike the poppier vibe of earlier tracks like Pickles From The Jar, it has an angsty and dark tone to it, perfectly coupled with a film-clip that paints Courtney as a dejected and rejected carnivalclown. The album, Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, was recorded last autumn over a blistering 10-day session in Melbourne and will see the light of day come March 20 – to say I’m excited is a huge understatement.