Album Review: Courtney Barnett’s Tell Me How You Really Feel

Courtney Barnett’s Tell Me How You Really Feel gives off a literary vibe. I kept on thinking of Jardine Libaire’s White Fur with Barnett’s capacity to describe every detail of a space and a moment to explore the dark world of emotion. While every human being uses photographic memory to trigger their remembrance, Barnett does it to inspire a song.

Each track on Tell Me How You Really Feel feels like a room. You walk into one room, and you see the ghosts of a couple re-enacting a discourse that left them “Walkin on Eggshells” or asserting they “Need A Little Time”. Maybe, you’ll walk in next door and you’ll find a woman laying in her bed dealing with “Crippling Self-Doubt And A General Lack Of Confidence” or feeling “Nameless, Faceless”. The irony is that Barnett’s haunting verses do not feel “haunting” because of her catchy, indie-pop hooks.

From “Sunday roast” to “Hopefulness”, Barnett takes you on a journey of “self-evaluation” through moody-pop arrangements that spright your soul with their reflections. Her voice has a “prancing” quality to it that makes it appear easy through verses of uneasiness. Tracks like “Charity” or “Help Yourself” have her voice trudging through lyrics as if her vocals were heavy boots, yet they are also silvered with cool, edged spikes. In essence, she feels like a merchant of melancholy; selling and bartering the internal depressions we all carry to a slacker-pop melody and an endearing, rebel image. For More Information On Courtney Barnett and To Buy Tell Me How You Really Feel Click Here.