First
up this year is Courtney Barnett’s
sophomore album. While it’s only solo album #2, it feels like Barnett’s been around for some while:
that ridiculous ‘new Bob Dylan’ hype
was half a decade ago, and – as well as her debut album – she now also has a
stellar ep and a (disappointing) collaborative album with Kurt Vile under her belt. Her debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit came an
impressive 2nd on this list in 2015. Tell Me How You Really Feel maintains much of what made that first
record great, and in a number of ways is the more developed and mature album. ‘City
Looks Pretty’ is a track of twisting complexity, and – given that was the lead
single – it says a lot about the sort of indie record Barnett has made here. Lyrically, she’s as idiosyncratic as ever,
although her writing for this album is definitely less whimsical and more
melancholic. Such are the times in which we live, I guess. While Tell Me How You Really Feel never quite
connected with me to the same extent as did Sometimes
I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (I’m not entirely sure why),
objectively it’s just as good, if not better, and, subjectively, I’ve still
thoroughly enjoyed it.