TIME IS ON HER SIDE
TWO DECADES AFTER Kurt Cobain redefined mainstream rock with his raw, uncompromising songwriting and antiguitar hero way of playing guitar, a left-handed guitarist and art school student in Hobart, Australia, took inspiration from his example. Courtney Barnett knew the rock music of several eras, thanks to a neighbor’s mixtapes, and her own modest CD collection consisted mainly of Nirvana albums. While playing right-handed guitars upside down at first (due to the unavailability of good lefty guitars), she developed a unique way of playing rhythm and lead with her thumb and fingers, since she didn’t like the sound of a pick against the strings.
By the early 2010s, Barnett was playing in bands and appearing as a co-writer and guitarist on recordings by local singer-songwriters. After a stint as a slide guitarist and co-lead singer in the psych-country-folk group Immigrant Union (you can hear her on their sophomore album, Anyway), Barnett released her debut EP, I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris in 2012 on Milk! Records, a label she cofounded with fellow artist and then-partner Jen Cloher.
“ONE OF MY SAFETY FALLBACKS WAS TO USE A LOT OF DISTORTION PEDAL. WHEN IN DOUBT, JUST MAKE A BIG NOISE”
The 34-year-old’s widely eclectic take on indie rock can be gleaned from a playlist of influential songs she curated for a streaming service for many years following those first band experiences. Her selections show a wide tapestry of musical input, ranging from her parents’ favorite jazz singers to the ’90s bands of
