Courtney Barnett has earned our trust. With every release, from 2013’s The Double EP or one of her full-lengths, 2014’s Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit or 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel, she uses her observant, witty lyrics to paint us versions of the truth—either one that’s personal to her or reflects reality on a larger scale. Today, she’s returned with the track “Rae Street” and news of her third album titled Things Take Time, Take Time, which is scheduled to come out November 12 on Mom+Pop Music/Marathon Artists.
Things Take Time, Take Time was worked on over the past couple years and recorded between the end of 2020 and early 2021 with producer/drummer Stella Mozgawa. For the album opener “Rae Street,” Barnett delivers her signature matter-of-fact tone. She observes the mundane events that plague an unextraordinary town—a garbage truck wobbles through the streets, a parent teaches their kid to ride a bike, dogs’ leashes cutely cross paths. “Rae Street” never reaches an unforgettable climax, but leaves a trail of stark wisdom throughout. “All our candles, hopes, and prayers, though well-meaning, they don’t mean a thing,” she sings during the first verse. Later, she sees right through us: “You seem so stable / But you’re just hanging on.”
For its accompanying video, we’re thrown into a world of Courtneys, the ones that Barnett observes and concludes are barely getting by. Pre-order Things Take Time, Take Time here and watch “Rae Street” below.
