Courtney Barnett received international acclaim last year for her remarkable ability to transform the most mundane events of everyday life into spellbinding, thoughtful lyrics. Barnett’s talent for crafting catchy songs was displayed with the digital-only release last fall of The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas on London-based label Marathon Artists. The debut offering quickly caught the attention of music lovers and critics, with Rolling Stone comparing the emerging songwriter to “early Bob Dylan,” while NPR described Barnett as “laconic, funny and charming.”
Today, NYC-based indie powerhouse Mom + Pop, home to revered artists like Sleigh Bells, Andrew Bird, Polica, and fellow Australians Jagwar Ma, is proud to become part of the Courtney Barnett story, announcing her recent signing and the re-release of The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas through a North American licensing agreement with Marathon Artists. For the first time, on April 15th, North American fans will be able to purchase the album on CD and vinyl.
Barnett spoke with Billboard.com in an exclusive interview about the new deal with Mom + Pop, “I’m very hands on with my music — I do all the artwork and everything myself — and the songs I write aren’t necessarily the most commercial…. It was important to me to work with a label that was OK with that and with keeping the creative channels open.” Mom + Pop’s founder and CEO Michael “Goldie” Goldstone told Billboard that he was initially drawn to Barnett because of her “non-traditional approach to writing that connects as visceral and immediate.” Goldstone went further to note that Barnett’s songs “resonate in a way that make you feel like a part of a story.”
Barnett will be back in the US this month, playing shows in Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, New York, LA and San Francisco, only a handful of tickets are left on the West Coast and the East Coast is completely sold out. Barnett has also just been added to play Coachella in April and will additionally make stops at Firefly, Sasquatch and NXNE.
You can pre-order the album now, which also includes a limited edition tea towel complete with an illustration by Barnett. The album can be bought digitally now via iTunes.
Upcoming Tour Dates /
2.18.14 – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL – Sold Out
2.19.14 – DC9 – Washington, DC – Sold Out
2.20.14 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA – Sold Out
2.21.14 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY – Sold Out
2.22.14 – The Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY – Sold Out
2.23.14 – Bootleg Theater – Los Angeles, CA
2.24.14 – Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA
Bio /
Welcome to the world of Courtney Barnett, a hot, hazy place where ‘suburban banalities’ and ‘mindless procrastination’ have never sounded so compelling. The 24-year-old Melbourne-based singer, guitarist and songwriter has created a candid lyrical space for her growing legions of devotees through a series of DIY releases and shows back home to snowballing acclaim, and is now taking things worldwide with her first LP collection, The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, via House Anxiety/Marathon Artists.
Lead single “Avant Gardener” is a vivid display of her magic. A hook-laden fug of country roots and discordant psychedelia with a dream-like narrative. Courtney’s refreshingly unaffected sing-speak tells the story of an anaphylaxis induced panic-attack in the midst of an Australian heatwave, “The paramedic thinks I’m clever cos I play guitar, I think she’s clever cos she stops people dying.”
The LP collection is a record of two halves, and collates Her Story So Far… It fittingly begins with six brand new songs and is then backed with six older tracks which were originally released in the form of her 2012 debut EP. Together, The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas spans genres and stories, and is unique introduction to an incomparable and exciting new talent.
As well as “Avant Gardener,” selected highlights include the gorgeous and woozy piano-strewn opener “Out of the Woodwork” which shows the darker side of her writing. “Anonymous Club” sees Courtney at her romantic, melancholic best, while the infectious Dylan-esque cavalcade that is “History Eraser” was recently nominated alongside Tame Impala for the APRA Song Of The Year back in Australia.
“The one thing that captivates me in a song is the honesty of a songwriter,” considers Courtney “And that doesn’t mean it has to be deep, dark personal secrets, it just means it has to be honest. It could be about walking to the shop, but if it’s said with that person’s perspective then it can make it interesting.” It’s with this purist story-telling mantra that Courtney’s finding her listeners growing at a staggering rate.
On April 15th, 2014, Courtney Barnett will release The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas on Mom + Pop.
For all Courtney Barnett related press inquiries, please contact Grace Jones at REQUIEM media: grace@requiem-media.com
The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas Tracklisting /
01. Out Of The Woodwork
02. Don’t Apply Compression Gently
03. Avant Gardener
04. History Eraser
05. David
06. Anonymous Club
07. Lance Jr.
08. Are You Looking After Yourself
09. Scotty Says
10. Canned Tomatoes (whole)
11. Porcelain
12. Ode to Odetta
Press Quotes /
“Barnett’s musical strength lies in her lyrics….Her songs take listeners through fleeting observations that, when observed as a whole, form powerful and introspective compositions.” NPR
“Courtney Barnett, from Australia, arrived with songs that match terse yet wildly unpredictable storytelling with rock that works up the scrappy momentum of the Velvet Underground.” New York Times
“Wordy, articulate and dazzingly witty.” Pitchfork
“[Barnett] writes matter-of-fact tales that unspool like barstool revelations and sound like some hybrid of Kimya Dawson and Kurt Cobain.” Rolling Stone
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