Tell Me How You Really Feel

Rolling Stone - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEELis noisy and way more pissed off than her 2015 debut....unsheathing sharp new earnestness alongside her trademark sabers of sarcasm and penetrating observation." Spin - "Settle into TELL ME's crinkled smarts and Barnett remains as observant as SOMETIMES demonstrated." Spin - Included in Spin's "The 51 Best Albums of 2018" -- "'City Looks Pretty' is almost paradoxically catchy, given its subject matter. The melodies and instrumentation are equally agile across the album, pushing forward a set of songs that are as musically confident as they are lyrically despairing." Entertainment Weekly - "It's another cutting effort from modern rock's sharpest lyricist." Uncut - "[T]he closing "Sunday Roast" takes the record, and Barnett's art, to a new dimension. It starts out as a shuffling, dreamy REM reverie of reconciliation." Uncut - "[T]he sour, melancholic 'Need A Little Time' showed just how Barnett's writing has matured. Seriously good, then." Billboard - "[The album] sees Barnett relying more heavily on the cathartic properties of her six-string, crafting escapist vintage Pink Floyd, John Frusciante, and `80s power-pop soundscapes..." NME (Magazine) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL feels more personal, like opening a window into Barnett's mind, exposing her vulnerabilities and fears in the process." Pitchfork (Website) - "Courtney Barnett's second album is smaller, more introverted than her debut. It's tentative but with a purpose, songs about what it means to not have -- or need --the right words for everything." Clash (Magazine) - "'Need A Little Time' is a particular highlight, the verses battling up a rhythm section on a sharp incline to the achingly expressive chorus wherein we learn that the break is required 'from me and you.'"

カート・ヴァイルとの共演盤を挿んで到着した3年ぶりの新作。オーセンティックなギター・ロックというサウンドの主軸はそのままに、彼女の特徴でもあった難しい単語や抽象的な表現が歌詞から消えたのは、〈より多くの人に届けたい〉という気持ちの表れか。もっとも、曲名からして挑発的な"I'm Not Your Mother, I'm Not Your Bitch"など、しっかり毒気を残している点が頼もしい。ブリーダーズのディール姉妹もお返し客演。
bounce (C)上野功平