Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Courtney Barnett, Milk Records 2021.
It’s been three years since Courtney Barnett last released an album and a lot has happened in that time.
Her first two albums were greeted with universal acclaim and she was instantly rocketed into the outer reaches of stardom, including stints on American TV as the new darling of indie rock.
It would have been easy to have been overcome with all the attention and yet Courtney was able to remain grounded throughout the experience.
Maybe the three-year hiatus was part of her coping mechanism.
While her first and second albums were very introspective, even melancholy, Things Take Time, Take Time is quite uplifting.
The album was co-produced by Courtney and drummer Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint, Kurt Vile, Cate le Bon) and it presents Courtney in her most relaxed, happy, creative and positive disposition.
The songs are still about the everyday existence of ordinary people, complete with all their foibles.
Courtney once again provides us with a fly on the wall insight into the private and intimate world of her characters, or is it her own life?
Whichever, the songs are beautifully drawn little vignettes into other people’s lives.
We can’t help feeling a little voyeuristic and somewhat privileged to be given this opportunity.
The songs on Things Take Time, Take Time come from a happy place, so the album is light and airy.
It’s sunny and joyous, glowing with the warmth of love.
The angst and self-doubt that characterised the songs on Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit and Tell Me How You Really Feel are nowhere to be seen.
Things Take Time, Take Time is a beautiful album that reveals a different side to Courtney.
We see an artist who is in a good place, who is confident and relaxed and doesn’t have to prove anything to herself, or others.
In the music business three years is a long time and audiences can forget about you but this album is sure to please her fans and have the critics once again proclaiming her brilliance.
