Young Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter Courtney Barnett lives up to her promise on her second album.
“Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit” confirms that the first-blush crush wasn’t misguided. Incisive, cutting and verbally dexterous, if a little overwhelming in a single sitting, Barnett’s best new songs — “Pedestrian at Best,” “Depreston” and “Debbie Downer” among them — inject memorable heft into rock terrain formerly explored by Polly Jean Harvey, the young Elvis Costello, and Kurt Cobain.
Take “Nobody Really Cares if You Don’t Go to the Party,” a striking, hard-strummed jam about lethargy, isolation and night life. After a friend pressures her for a night on the town while maracas shake in quick rhythm, Barnett declines, singing, “I’d rather stay in bed with the rain over my head / Than have to pick my brain up off the floor.” Wordy? A bit. Barnett could use an editor.
The details, though, make “Sometimes I Sit” instantly alluring, and her guitar playing is just as eloquent. Whether banging Nirvana-heavy chords or dotting out Pixies-esque guitar lines Barnett bursts with inspiration.
Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times
Laura Marling arguably hit the high point of her career with 2013’s “Once I Was an Eagle.” Everything about that album was big — its thicket of acoustic arrangements, its peals of lyrics about heartbreak, its run time (an hour and change).
For a follow-up, she’s gone smaller, starting with the LP’s title of “Short Movie.” Though it’s not the statement-making brass-ring grab that “Eagle” was, it’s certainly more approachable, and maybe even more enjoyable.
“Short Movie” is both lighter and stranger than its predecessor. Here, Marling’s ever-brilliant guitar playing is surrounded with specters of ambient electronic noise. “False Hope” creaks with Tangerine Dream-style washes cut through with strong drumming and a panicked lyrical insomnia. The spare “Howl” brings out her inner Nico, but the rockers like “I Feel Your Love” and “Don’t Let Me Bring You Down” steal the show with a newfound zest. “Short Movie” is no epic, but it’s the most replayable LP of Marling’s career.
August Brown, Los Angeles Times
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