Courtney Barnett has unveiled more details regarding the progress of her eagerly anticipated follow-up to her breakthrough debut album, Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit, which dropped to critical acclaim last year.
Speaking to NME, Barnett revealed that her sophomore effort is already “half-written”, i.e. she has a lot of half-written songs, and not only are they darker in tone than her output thus far, but they are largely piano-based.
“One day I hate everything I’ve written, the next it seems alright. When I get home from touring, I’ll be able to think about it logically. So far, the new songs are a general reflection on the meaning of life, our purpose for being here and all that rubbish,” she said.
“I’ve been writing on piano a lot. It’s darker and more melancholy, probably as a reflection on politics.” She continued: “I’m really bad at decision making. For me, finishing a song takes so much more effort than starting one.”
“I’ve got some good half-songs for the next record, and maybe they’ll turn into great full songs.” Barnett said she wasn’t sure if her backing band, the CB3, would be making an appearance on the second album.
“I don’t know. It could just be an album with me and a piano, so who knows?” she said. “If I knew how the album was going to sound so far in advance, I wouldn’t bother recording it. But I love those guys, they’re the greatest musicians.”
Speaking at Coachella earlier this year, the Melbourne singer-songwriter revealed she hasn’t stopped writing songs since the release of Sometimes I Sit and Think. “I’ve been writing since the last one I guess,” she told interviewers.
“A lot of the new songs I haven’t even shown the band yet, I’m still trying to write them… It’s a vulnerable time,” she continued. “I get nervous showing them to anyone in case they suck or something.”
