Fresh off her UK/Europe tour, Courtney Barnett will let loose her grungy, indie-rock energy across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand starting this week. Touring her fourth studio album, Creature of Habit, Barnett will bring her magic bag of tricks: her intimate storytelling, moody guitar, and witty, anecdotal lyrics that have made her a star of the indie-rock singer-songwriter scene in Australia and the world.
From her home in Los Angeles, the Grammy-nominated artist says life post-album release has been great. From shows in Japan, a North American tour, Newport Folk Festival, sixteen stops across UK/Europe, and more, Barnett has been wasting no time in celebrating it. It felt good to finally release the album, she reflects, after it spent “three years in the cooker” before coming out in March this year.
“It just felt so good to finally have it out in the world and to start playing the songs, and it’s just been such a joy so far. The tours have been amazing,” she tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
“It’s weird, you never completely know what people are thinking or how they’re responding to the songs, but I think for the most part, it seems positive, and people seem to be connecting to the songs and lyrics. That’s all I want as a songwriter, for people to find something for them in there.”
Creature of Habit is a bold and emotionally vulnerable record that explores how to get out of your own way so you can truly feel your life. It’s no small feat, and Barnett still doesn’t know the answer.
“I feel like I’m going to be singing about that for the rest of my life, trying to figure it out,” she says. “I write so much about myself and my kind of interactions and reflections in the world, so I’m just constantly studying my own behaviour. Especially for this album.”
Sometimes in songwriting, she explains, you want to say everything at once. You want to fit in your whole kind of moral and show everyone who you are in one song. But that’s impossible, she admits. Sometimes you just have to strip things down to one small amount or idea, and simplify it.
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“I think that’s the same in life. It’s like lots of small steps and small changes, [how to get out of your own way],” she says.
Returning to Aotearoa New Zealand for the first time since her sold-out tour in 2021, Barnett is looking forward to her visit across the ditch. Her first “ingrained” memory of the country, as she describes it, was before she even toured there. It was when she first got a passport, and she and her girlfriend at the time hired a van and went on a roadtrip.
“Being from Australia, we feel connected [to NZ] in that way, like neighbours,” she explains. “That first trip was so nice, such nice memories, and then every time I’ve been back doing shows, it just kind of adds to that,” she says.
Her last tour, which was just after COVID, still holds a special place in her heart.
“I remember feeling really grateful that people were there, and they were willing to leave home and go stand in a room and experience music. I think it really helped me. I feel like I went to this other level of gratitude for performing and for music in general, and just doing what I do.”
Fans heading to the shows can expect Barnett in full force. She’ll be bringing her band with her for a show that will be loud, genuine, and authentic, in her signature style.
“I think my band is so amazing,” she says. “To get on stage with them every night, I just feel so lucky to be able to do that. I love performing as a three-piece…I feel like you can hear every element, and sometimes there’s a kind of rawness to that, but then also a clarity that I really enjoy.”
“I just think the shows are going to be a lot of fun.”
Click here for more details on the Australia and New Zealand tour.
