Album Review: Courtney Barnett— “MTV Unplugged”
Throughout the 1990s, many fans enjoyed the novelty of seeing popular bands like Nirvana and Alice in Chains go on MTV Unplugged and perform their chugging rhythms with an acoustic bass and brush sticks. It seemed like fate that a singer-songwriter like Courtney Barnett would eventually take the stage for her own recent MTV Unplugged album — and she, by all means, killed it. Courtney Barnett is an Australian indie-folk artist whose witty, speedy style is nothing short of unique. She’s a wicked guitarist and vocalist, and her latest album measures up with the rest of her catalog. Barnett takes some of the best of her art to Unplugged (recorded on October 22, 2019 and released on December 6, 2019) and makes this classic program entirely her own—the best of this album is some of the greater music that I’ve ever heard.
The album consists of eight songs ranging from 4 minutes and 3 seconds to 6 minutes and 35 seconds, totaling 43 minutes and 25 seconds. Out of these eight tracks, I picked my three favorites to focus on, but I would like to give an honorable mention to “Nameless Faceless.” Although it did not make my top three, Nameless Faceless is a haunting duet performed with musician Evelyn Ida Morris that I found deserved a second listen for many reasons, despite it not being one of the songs I came back to immediately. My top three songs off of this album (in no particular order) were track one: “Depreston,” track four: “Avant Gardener,” and track six: “Untitled (Play It On Repeat).”
“Depreston” has a great drum groove, beautiful backing vocals and a lovely cello accompaniment played by Lucy Waldron. The cello adds beautifully to the song and works really well in a live context. All of the songs where Waldron is featured on cello are elevated musically but remain grounded by Barnett’s voice and words making for a perfect backdrop to Barnett’s work. The song is gloomy and longing and is brought to life in front of an audience perfectly by this ensemble of musicians.
“Avant Gardener” is probably my favorite track on the entire album. Barnett’s wit and lyrical prowess shine brightly on this track, and if “Depreston” is to set the bar for this ensemble, “Avant Gardener” raises it by a mile. Avant Gardener is a sort of rambling track with locked-in instrumentals that manage not to feel rigid. The bass, played by Bones Sloane, in this song felt like a driving force behind the tune. It was unwavering and allowed the melody to flow freely without losing its sense of direction. Something else worth noting is Waldron’s short but sweet solo in this song, which I found to be one of the overall highlights of the album.
Courtney Barnett’s MTV Unplugged is one of the best live albums I’ve listened to recently. Barnett’s work is an important, good sign for the indie and folk genres in the future. I would give this album an 8.3 out of 10. Even the songs that I’m not the biggest fan of are well-written and well-played—they just didn’t resonate with me. However, it’s important to listen for yourself and see what resonates with you personally. When considering how some artists often get new releases hyped up beyond belief, Courtney Barnett is vastly underrated.