BARNS COURTNEY – ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND EP REVIEW

Barns Courtney is one of my favorite artists. His songwriting is exceptional and his live shows are full of dynamic energy. Meeting him at College Street Music Hall was definitely one of my personal highlights. He was effervescent and ready for anything. AMP has had the pleasure of interviewing and reviewing Courtney several times.

Barns just released a new four song E.P. recorded during the covid quarantine. The songs are personal and introspective. Musically they are also stripped down and laid bare. Somewhat different from the flamboyant flair Barns is known for. It seems as Courtney’s used his isolation time to reflect inward. The songs have awakened a pensive Courtney who has to deal with the new normal. Far from the one he’s accustomed to. In his short intro to the E.P., Hard To Be Alone, he writes:

“5 year ago I sold all my things and gave up my apartment for a life on the road. I made a family from strangers and a home in motels, and it’s honestly the most terrifying and gratifying adventure I’ve ever experienced. Then the entire world went into lock down. These past few months are in such stark contrast to life in transit that even my writing process has changed. I’ve found myself back at my roots, confronted with all manner of lost lovers and loneliness. As if the moment the waters calmed, all my daemons swam to the surface to take a look around. This E.P. is sort of a catharsis for all that. In a roundabout way this moment of silence was just what I needed.”

The E. P. starts with the title track, “Hard To Be Alone”. The song opens with a strumming guitar and Courtney’s upfront vocals. His voice is is seriously somber as he pleads to a departed lover to remember him. One can feel the hurt and uncertainty Courtney is battling with. His voice cracks and the guitar become more contemplative and frantic. Courtney laments:

So if you’re struggling to go to sleep tonight

When you’re on your own beneath the lonely lights

Oh darling if I ever cross your mind

Won’t you let me know

Oh it’s hard

Oh it’s hard to be alone

Obviously Courtney’s daemons have risen. “Missing You” is the next tune. Again it starts with just Courtney and an acoustic guitar. The song still remains unadorned even when the bass and backing vocals enter. Courtney is shedding all his past loves and misgivings.  In “Missing You” Barns is laying out his soul and emotional baggage for the world to see. He’s purging his aloof persona and realizing he has deeper feelings and regrets. Never has a cleansing been so delicate and lovely.

“Home” follows. Courtney is coming full circle. He becomes cognizant of his maturation. Quarantine has calmed his internal child and brought out the innate adult. He sings:

Weird and wonderful world of mine

I’m a man but I’m just grown

And I’ll grow, but I’ll take my time

So come deliver me back home

“Dopamine” closes out the E.P. It’s considerably different from the other three songs. Courtney sounds a little like Johnny Cash in his vocal styling and inflections. It’s dark in tone with a melancholy piano intro. Barns’ monsters seem to have captured his usually buoyant spirit. Yet, the song ensnares the listener’s attention even with its ominous texture.

Hard To Be Alone transports Courtney into uncharted territory. He’s given us a fascinating thesis on the fears and psychosis caused by loneliness and segregation. A true troubadour.

 

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