Courtney Barnett - MTV Unplugged - Live in Melbourne

by Zena Grieg

published: 10 / 4 / 2020

Courtney Barnett - MTV Unplugged - Live in Melbourne

Label: Marathon
Format: CD

Excellent mixture of old songs, new songs and covers on acoustic MTV Unplugged performance from Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett

Review

Following a live performance at the invitation of MTV Australia in her adopted hometown, the Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett, known for her straight-talking, witty lyrics, has released her new album ‘MTV Unplugged Live in Melbourne’. With an impressive career starting in her teens, Barnett has already won three ARIA (Australian Recording Industry) awards as well being nominated for Best International Female Solo Artist at the 2016 BRIT and Best New Artist at the 2016 Grammy Awards. The same year she was named Australia’s songwriter of the year by APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association). She then became the first woman to win Best Rock Artist at the 2018 ARIA Awards. This new album contains eight tracks, including some of her most popular songs like ‘Depression’, ‘Avant Gardener and ‘Sunday Roast’ with a piano-led version of the striking anti-misogyny anthem ‘Nameless, Faceless’ (the lyrics referencing the quote by Margaret Atwood: "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them; women are afraid that men will kill them"), as well as covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Archie Roach and Seeker, Lover Keeper. There is also a previously unreleased Barnett original ‘Untitled (Play It on Repeat’). Barnett said she intentionally chose a mixture of old hits, new songs and covers to reflect on her career: "It’s been interesting to see the songs through a different filter, and it brings out this other emotional side to the music and the lyrics." She may say about her songs "I pick up on small parts of my everyday life and magnify them a bit. I spend a lot of time trying to say something mundane in a poetic way," but this new collection in which she is live and acoustic, with sound backing from her usual band and a cellist, is likely to continue the global appeal of an accomplished artist forging her own style in a forthright and distinctive way.

Track Listing:-

1 Depreston
2 Sunday Roast
3 Charcoal Lane (feat. Paul Kelly)
4 Avant Gardener
5 Nameless Faceless (feat. Evelyn Ida Morris)
6 Untitled (Play It on Repeat)
7 Not Only I (feat. Marlon Williams)
8 So Long, Marianne