Courtney Barnett has shared two new singles off her forthcoming album Creature of Habit, due out next month.
Released via Fiction Records, “Mantis” and “Sugar Plum” are the third and fourth tastes of the album, following previous singles “Site Unseen”, featuring Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, and “Stay in Your Lane”.
“Mantis” is described as a pivotal track of Creature of Habit, documenting the moment of serendipity where a praying mantis visited her studio, indirectly providing the inspiration and creative pathway that would lead to the album’s completion. It shows Barnett at her most bright-eyed, clear, and melodic.
“‘Mantis’ is the microcosmic centerpiece of this album, it embodies the message and meaning of every track. It’s a song about searching, and it helped me find my way through Creature Of Habit,” she shared.
I was feeling particularly lost while I was working on this song. One day, I was standing in the kitchen, making a coffee, when I noticed a little green praying mantis sitting on top of the doorframe. I had never seen one there in the desert house, so I took it as an important sign from the universe. I texted a photo to Stella and she said it’s good luck, look it up!
“I did a quick search and found it to also represent patience, perseverance and a guide for those who needed direction. I stood and spoke to the mantis for a while, it was a strange and enlightening moment that I’ll never forget. Eventually, I got back to writing, and finally I had the chorus to this song,” Barnett said.
Meanwhile, as with many tracks on the album, “Sugar Plum” deals with Barnett’s life-long struggle with self-doubt before a sense of optimism and wonder wins out in a transcendent final refrain.
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Due for release on March 27th via Fiction Records, Creature of Habit marks a decisive new chapter in Barnett’s musical evolution. It’s described as a “bold, emotionally resonant record” that explores a central question: how to get out of your own way so you can truly feel your life.
Written in the wake of a relocation from Australia to Los Angeles, and the closure of her long-running label Milk! Records, Barnett was grappling with changes that put the future of both her life and career in question. Rather than internalising those feelings, she decided to bring the confusion directly into the recording process.
Courtney Barnett’s “Mantis” and “Sugar Plum” are out now.
