Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett
Barnett performing in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Courtney Melba Barnett
Also known as	Cornetto Barnetto
Born	(1987-11-03) 3 November 1987 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Indie rock, alternative rock, grunge, psychedelic
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Milk!, Marathon Artists, Mom + Pop, House Anxiety
Website	courtneybarnett.com.au
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster Fender Jaguar Fender Stratocaster

Courtney Melba Barnett^[1] (born 3 November 1987)^[2] is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Melbourne, Australia. Known for her witty, rambling lyrics and deadpan singing style,^[3] she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP, I've Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris. International interest from the UK and North American music press came with the release of The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas in October 2013.^[4] At her well-received performances at the CMJ Music Marathon, Barnett was mentioned by both Rolling Stone^[5] and The New York Times^[6] as a standout performer.

Barnett’s debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, was released on 23 March 2015 to widespread critical acclaim. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015 she won four awards from eight nominations. She was nominated for Best New Artist at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and for International Female Solo Artist at the 2016 Brit Awards.^[7][8]

Career

From 2010 to 2011 Barnett played second guitar in Melbourne garage grunge band, Rapid Transit. They released one self-titled album on cassette. Between 2011 and 2013 she was a member of Australian psych-country band, Immigrant Union, a musical project founded by Brent DeBoer (of The Dandy Warhols) and Bob Harrow. Along with sharing vocal duties, Barnett predominantly played slide guitar and is on the band's second studio album, Anyway. DeBoer also played drums on Barnett's first extended play, I've Got a Friend called Emily Ferris.^[9] It appeared in 2012 on Barnett's own label, Milk! Records

In 2013 Barnett played lead guitar on Jen Cloher's third studio album, In Blood Memory, which was released on Milk! Records. Following the release of her first EP, Barnett signed to Marathon Artists (via its imprint House Anxiety). In August 2013, Marathon Artists released The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, a combined package of Barnett's first EP and her second EP, How To Carve A Carrot Into a Rose.^[10] The Double EP brought Barnett international critical acclaim, with "Avant Gardener", the lead single, named 'Track of the Day' by Q Magazine and 'Best New Track' by Pitchfork Media in 2013.^[11][12] It was named the album of the week by Stereogum^[13] The track "History Eraser" was nominated for the APRA Song of the Year.^[14] How To Carve A Carrot Into a Rose was released on a limited run by Milk! Records as a standalone EP in October 2013. Marathon Artists / House Anxiety partnered with Mom + Pop Music for the US release of The Double EP in 2014.^[15]

Milk! Records released a compilation EP, A Pair of Pears (with Shadows), on 10" white vinyl in September 2014, following a crowd sourcing campaign in July that year. The EP included a Barnett track, "Pickles from the Jar", the song was voted in at number 51 in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2014.^[16]

On 30 January 2015, Barnett released details on her upcoming full-length album, recorded in April 2014 with Burke Reid, along with two singles, "Pedestrian at Best" and "Depreston" and accompanying music videos. The music video for "Pedestrian at Best" features Cloher and Fraser A Gorman. Her debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, was released worldwide via Milk! Records (Australia), Marathon Artists / House Anxiety (UK & Rest of World),^[17] and Mom + Pop Music (US) on 23 March 2015,^[18] and was accompanied by tours in the UK and Europe, America, and Australasia.^[19][20]

Courtney Barnett plays Miami Marketta, March 2016

Sometimes I Sit and Think was met with rave critical acclaim, with numerous publications listing it as one of the best albums of 2015, including Rolling Stone,^[21] The Guardian,^[22] The Times,^[23] Pitchfork^[24] and the Chicago Tribune.^[25]

In August 2015, Barnett's UK label, Marathon Artists, in partnership with Mom + Pop Music and Milk! Records, launched a global, guerilla campaign for the release of her single Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party.^[26] Billboards and posters bearing the song's title went up in London, New York, LA, Melbourne and Sydney.^[27] The campaign garnered a lot of interest online and across social media and culminated in a surprise busking gig in Camden, London.^[28]

In concert, Dan Luscombe (of the The Drones) has often played lead guitar, having featured on both, How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose and Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, the latter of which he also co-produced. When Luscombe was not available, the band performed as a trio, with Barnett handling all guitar duties. Luscombe did not play on Barnett's 2015 tours, however, and she now refers to the band as the "CB3" on her Facebook page. The CB3 moniker also features prominently on drummer Dave Mudie's bass drum.

Barnett was nominated in eight categories at the ARIA Music Awards of 2015, and won four trophies: Breakthrough Artist, Best Female Artist, Best Independent Release and Best Cover Art for Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.^[29]

At the end of 2015, Barnett was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best New Artist category.^[30] She was later nominated for Best International Female in 2016 for the Brit awards.^[31] In January 2016, Barnett featured on the cover Australian magazine, Happy Mag.^[32] On 21 May 2016, she was the musical guest on the season finale of Saturday Night Live's 41st season, hosted by Fred Armisen.^[33] And on 27 May 2016 she was the musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Backing band members

Personal life

Barnett at Rough Trade, March 2015

Barnett was born in Pittwater, and grew up in Sydney's Northern Beaches. When she was 16, her family moved to Hobart. She attended St Michael's Collegiate School and Tasmanian School of Art.^[34] Having grown up on American bands, she discovered Australian singer-songwriters Darren Hanlon and Dan Kelly which inspired her to start writing songs.^[35]

Barnett is married to Jen Cloher,^[36] and has lived in Melbourne with her since 2011.^[37] The song "Numbers" was co-written by Barnett and Cloher about their relationship. Barnett's song "Pickles from the Jar" also details their relationship; and Cloher is mentioned by name in the first line of "Dead Fox".

Barnett is left-handed,^[1] and plays guitars which are left-handedly strung.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

• "Avant Gardener" – Milk!/Marathon Artists/V2 (19 March 2013)^[45]
• "History Eraser" – Milk!/Marathon Artists/V2 (14 October 2013)^[46]
• "Pedestrian at Best" – Milk!/Marathon Artists/V2 (16 February 2015)^[47]
• "Depreston" – Milk! / Marathon Artists/V2 (2 March 2015)^[48]
• "Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go to the Party" – Milk!/Marathon Artists/V2 (7 August 2015)^[49]

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

Grammy Awards

Brit Awards

See also

• List of musicians who play left-handed

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Courtney Barnett.

• Official website
• Courtney Barnett discography at Discogs