Courtney Barnett today announced details of her second studio album Tell Me How You Really Feel, and shared its scathing lead single Nameless, Faceless (check it out below).
Early reports indicate Tell Me How You Really Feel Barnett reveals an unexpected shift. From its title (A question? An order?) to the unsettling cover image – a blood-red tinted self-portrait in uncomfortably tight close up – Barnett sets a new tone.
First single Nameless, Faceless is an infectious punk rock anthem simmering with indignation and sarcasm as it examines the phenomenon of anonymous internet trolls. Through song, Barnett is using the medium she knows best to return fire.
Every lyric is memorable as Barnett quotes one of the more creative burns she’s received in a comments section, like “I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and spit out better words than you”.
It would be pure comedy if it didn’t invariably and insidiously cross over into anxiety about one’s safety in the real world… illustrated perfectly by the chorus which borrows from a famous Margaret Atwood quote “I want to walk through the park in the dark / Men are scared that women will laugh at them / I want to walk through the park in the dark / Women are scared that men will kill them / I hold my keys between my fingers”.
Tracklisting:
1. Hopefulessness
2. City Looks Pretty
3. Charity
4. Need A Little Time
5. Nameless, Faceless
6. I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch
7. Crippling Self Doubt And A General Lack Of Self Confidence
8. Help Your Self
9. Walkin’ On Eggshells
10. Sunday Roast
Tell Me How You Really Feel is out May 18 through Barnett’s own label Milk! Records/ Remote Control. Check out the video for Nameless, Faceless below.
