This is the first post I'm doing for the new meme hosted by Killian @ Leaf on the Breeze. In this meme, we will listen and tell our opinions on a certain album, chosen each week by a different participant. Next week it's my turn and I have an album in mind that I'm really excited to finally listen. Anyway, this week Killian chose for the first album of the music meme to be Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett.
Courtney Barnett is an Australian singer-songwriter, and her music falls into the indie rock genre. She has already released two EPs since 2012, but Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit is her first studio album. Learn more about her on her official website.
First of all, I have to admit that I loved the cover of this album. It's simple but very effective and after listening to the whole thing I believe that it suits it very well. Some of the songs have a garage rock and some a folk feel to them, but I preferred more the second ones. The only problem for me is that certain songs, like Dead Fox, fell into monotony and I found myself skipping them to the next ones. The lyrics of the songs though is what impressed me the most in Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I just Sit. They are a bit surreal, but most of them narrate stories that feel personal. And when this happens, the result is beautiful and sometimes even touching. I stare at the lawn, it's Wednesday morning/It needs a cut but I leave it growing/All different sizes and all shades of green/Slashing it down just seems kind of mean are the first lyrics from the song Small Poppies and I absolutely like them. All in all, I would say that the debut album by Courtney Barnett is refreshing and very enjoyable, although at times I felt that the lyrics were much better than the music.
Favourite tracks: Depreston, Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go to the Party
Literary References: Not really. In the first track, Elevator Operator, the hero is called Paul Oliver, which is a writer on the blues and other forms of African-American music, but it's just a coincidence.
Is it a good reading companion? Absolutely. Especially the slower tracks are ideal for background music while reading.
I definitely agree with you when you say that the lyrics are often better than the music, but for me that wasn't too much of a problem. I actually really liked the first half, the song Pedestrian At Best is probably my favourite from the album. I'm glad you enjoyed some of it anyway and I'd highly recommend you check out her EPs, specifically the song Avant Gardener, which is a personal favourite of mine.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely check them out! It was a pretty enjoyable album, besides the problems it had :)
DeleteI definitely have a to listen to this album, great blog post :-)
ReplyDeleteIf you're into this kind of music, you will definitely love it :)
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