With her self-deprecating songs dwelling on the minutiae of everyday life, Courtney Barnett might have expected her ragged indie rock to be consigned to a cultish following.
In fact, the Australian newcomer’s debut album made the top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic, so her Camden gig was packed out. Barnett occupied one end of the stage, while a fedora-wearing drummer and wild-haired bassist took the other. They produced raw vocals, driving riffs and pummelling rhythms for 90 minutes, which seemed a bit drawn-out for a songwriter with one record.
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Barnett made a diversion into early, inconsistent material and wandered the stage with her clanging guitar. It came as a relief when she announced some superior songs from her album. “They’re all about relationships ... kind of, not really,” she suggested.
Fortunately the tunes were sharper than her description: the poppy Dead Fox and its environmental concerns, the poignant house-hunting song Depreston and Kim’s Caravan, in which languid vocals gave way to head-banging.
Self-doubt was accompanied by fearsome grunge on Pedestrian at Best, followed by a hurried encore that had her reluctant to leave. Despite her natural diffidence, Barnett was rightly savouring this triumph.
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