Courtney Barnett: A Songwriter With An Eye For The Mundane

“Should’ve stayed in bed today / I much prefer the mundane,” Courtney Barnett sings near the end of “Avant Gardener.” Considering the song’s winding and darkly comedic first-person account of an anaphylactic anxiety attack that finds her in an ambulance after attempting some gardening, the line is the understatement of the year. But Barnett’s signature song -- with its fantastic “I’m so over it” deadpan delivery -- does sort of stand in as the modus operandi of The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas -- the Melbourne, Australia songwriter’s self-released 2013 collection, now set to be reissued in the U.S. in April.

Amid a swirling fury of frayed-wire guitar distortion and a rambling backbeat, Barnett speak-sings fleeting thoughts about failed relationships, boredom, and youthful directionless in exacting detail and shrugging nonchalance. And while her lyrics seem so specifically personal, and well, mundane, they’re immediately identifiable. Case in point: take “Are You Looking After Yourself” -- a phone conversation with her parents that we’ve all had at one time or another, where they ask “Are you working hard my darling, we’re so worried… Are you eating? You sound so thin.” Or see her witty setup-punchline in “Avant Gardener”: “The paramedic thinks I’m clever 'cause I play guitar / I think she’s clever 'cause she stops people dying.”

Whether these detached matter-of-fact observations are real-life tales or adopted persona -- or likely, both -- it’s this kind of concise, of-the-moment songwriting that makes Barnett such a sharp and potent young talent.

Set List:

• "Avant Gardener"
• "Lance Jr."
• "History Eraser"