★★★★☆
Courtney Barnett’s music is hard to pin down. Though capable of sprawling epics full of funny droll lyrical observations, she can also be strikingly direct. She comes to the second last show of her long tour for her heavy, and explorative, new album Tell Me How You Really Feel yet shows no sign of tiring as she showcases all the intricacies of her charmingly human and relatable indie rock.
She is supported tonight by fellow Australian Laura Jean. Laura Jean is an enigmatic performer who uses beautiful wailing saxophone and psychedelic dream folk to win over the Glasgow crowd during a 35-minute set.
Courtney Barnett takes to the stage and opens with the terse Hopefulessness. The shuddering crescendo of feedback at the climax of Hopefulessness and the punk rock edge to City Looks Pretty illustrate the muscle and verve Courtney’s band bring to the live show.
The early part of her set continues in this vein focussing on highlights from her most recent record, with the powerful kinetic energy of I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch eliciting fervent applause. Soon, the pace of the set is changed, as she introduces new song Small Talk, which has a slight country feel thanks to some honky tonk piano work.
