Courtney Barnett has had a busy 2025. In March she appeared on the Neil Young tribute album Heart of Gold with a gorgeous dream pop-inspired cover of 'Lotta Love'. For anyone drawn to the stripped back suburban intimacy of her breakthrough LP Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, the Young rendition – with its spectral reverb and woozy textures – may come as a surprise.
But perhaps it's not really a surprise: her most recent song-oriented LP, Thing Take Time, Take Time was a stylistically diverse affair – a truth somewhat obscured by the fact that Barnett's voice and lyricism tends to take centre stage. Those elements are foregrounded for good reason, but it was nevertheless illuminating to hear Barnett's 2023 soundtrack album End of the Day, which removed all traces of voice and narrative in favour of a gentle, melancholic instrumental approach that foregrounds Barnett's textural interests as a guitarist. If you've ever wondered why an electric guitarist would play without a plectrum, first look up what Jeff Beck has to say about it, and if that doesn't convince you, listen to End of the Day.
