Courtney Barnett is Australia’s indie pop sweetheart with an affinity for singing about the most mundane things in the most matter-of-fact manner. Her first album debuted in 2015, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. After the release of this album, her place in the industry was solidified. In 2015, at the ARIA Awards, she went home with four awards from eight different nominations.
In Barnett’s newest endeavor, End of the Day, she lowers the volume and tackles a more ambient beast: the score to her own documentary, Anonymous Club (2021) directed by Danny Cohen. Barnett’s score is accompanied by the synth works of Stella Mozgawa to enhance the overall movement of the tracks. Instrumental in scope, this work marks a detour in Barnett’s discography, but one in which she has succeeded yet again.
The album is designed to highlight scenes and transitions and are all rumored to have been improvised. We can imagine that these songs raming Barnett’s documentary must portray the way she feels in specific scenes and there are songs with slight changes in pace from the ambient mood she’s created overall.
Although this work is missing some of the key components of Barnett’s sound, her conscious emotions make their way through in the sound. End of the Day was never expected but it provides us with a better understanding of how Barnett sees herself and how she operates musically.
Photo credits from: https://music.apple.com/us/album/end-of-the-day-music-from-the-film-anonymous-club/1694054146
