Grammy-nominated Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett has released her first single with Fiction Records, “Stay in Your Lane”.
The song kicks off her next musical chapter as the first new material since the surprise instrumental record End of the Day, and since the critically-acclaimed album Things Take Time, Take Time.
“Stay in Your Lane” once again proves why Barnett is not only one of the most innovative songwriters of her time, but also one of the most impressive rock guitarists.
The song is brimming with a ferocious rhythm section and raucous guitar riffage, and features her signature evocative lyricism. Not for the faint-hearted, filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Pavements) is behind the (at times) squeamish new video. Watch it below.
A deft lyricist and virtuosic guitarist with inimitable musicianship, Barnett first found critical acclaim with 2013’s The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas and broke into the mainstream in 2015 with her debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. Garnering a coveted Best New Artist Grammy nomination and numerous other accolades including Saturday Night Live, the album stands as a generational classic.
Barnett followed her debut with 2017’s Lotta Sea Lice, an acclaimed collaborative record with Kurt Vile, and eschewed the vignettes of her early records on 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel, her humid, political sophomore record, which featured the Margaret Atwood-invoking single “Nameless, Faceless”. In 2021, she released Things Take Time, Take Time, a remarkable artistic step forward.
She has been quietly making her live return, and will be returning to screens on October 22nd, performing the new single on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
She is also set to join triple j in celebrating its 50th birthday next month with the ‘triple j 50 Tour’, alongside the likes of Ninajirachi and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers.
‘Triple j 50 Tour’ will kick off in Hobart on November 15th, 2025 at ODEON, headlined by Barnett, supported by Luca Brasi, Emily Wurramara, and Gordon’s Grandson. For more details, see here.
