Courtney Barnett’s five best covers
Few modern indie rockers have carved out a sound and space for themselves quite as special as Courtney Barnett. The Aussie singer-songwriter pairs intricate stream-of-consciousness lyricism with tailored slacker guitars and raw vocals, resulting in a sound that is at once personal and universal. Meshing the surreal with the mundanity and anxieties of modern life, her distinctive drawl has become the voice of a generation.
While Barnett shines brightest in the specificity and individuality of her original lyricism, the songwriter is no stranger to a cover. Over the course of her career, she has provided her own takes on songs by artists she admires, from indie rock contemporaries and collaborators such as Sharon Van Etten to alternative predecessors such as The Velvet Underground and Grateful Dead.
Each new cover only further demonstrates her capability to infuse existing music with new life, as well as her excellent taste. Somehow fitting her raw vocals and slacker indie rock stylings into each track, it seems there might be no song that the Aussie couldn’t reinvent, but there are certain covers that almost seem as if they were made for Barnett.
From a folk favourite from Leonard Cohen’s debut to a tender take on a track by fellow alt-rockers Chastity Belt, we’ve compiled a list of our five favourite covers by Barnett. Find the full list below.
Courtney Barnett’s five best covers:
‘Different Now’ by Chastity Belt
Chastity Belt may have spawned out of an indie rock scene an ocean away from Barnett’s home, but there is a certain kinship between the sonic stylings of the two artists. Each of them has honed their own witty style of songwriting, observing the world around them through their lyrics. It made perfect sense, then, when Barnett provided her take on Chastity Belt’s biggest hit, ‘Different Now’, earlier this year.
The original charted modern anxieties over indie rock instrumentation, familiar territory for Barnett. As a result, her cover of the song sounds as if she could have written it. Though Chastity Belt’s words are far less specific and rambly than Barnett’s penmanship, the words, “All those little things that keep you up at night, you should take some time to figure out your life,” seem to spill out of her mouth with ease. Accompanied by slightly brighter and bouncier instrumentation, it’s an exquisite contemporary cover.
‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ by The Velvet Underground and Nico
The influence of The Velvet Underground on the modern indie sphere is unparalleled, and Barnett is no exception. In 2021, the singer-songwriter provided her take on one of the avant-garde aficionados’ most tender tracks, ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’, from their iconic debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. The song featured on a tribute album alongside the likes of Kurt Vile, Fontaines D.C. and Iggy Pop.
Barnett’s take on the short track replaces Nico’s iconic vocals with her distinctive drawl and removes the tender background harmonies present in the original. Despite stripping the song back, it still contains all the softness of The Velvet Underground’s recording, all through an acoustic guitar, a tambourine and Barnett’s unique touch.
‘So Long, Marianne’ by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen songs have been subject to swathes of covers throughout the years, with ‘So Long, Marianne’ in particular being taken on by music giants like Beck and John Cale. In 2019, Barnett performed a gorgeous rendition of the 1967 folk track for MTV Unplugged Live in Melbourne. Sitting amidst twinkling lights and trees, she provides a take on the song that perfectly walks the line between faithfulness and originality.
Allowing the poetry and emotion of the song to overwhelm her entirely, Barnett is not only accompanied by her acoustic guitar this time. Rather, she awards this cover a dense array of instrumentation, including backing vocalists and strings. Still, her gritty vocals bring the song into the contemporary and ensure that the track is entirely her own.
‘Cannonball’ by The Breeders
During a visit to the AV Club office almost a decade ago, Barnett divulged her love for 1990s alt-rockers The Breeders, particularly for their 1993 record Last Splash, and paid homage to the band with her take on ‘Cannonball’. Barnett notes that she played the song on the first day of recording her album, presumably referring to Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.
Barnett’s familiarity with the tune and her love for the “cool bassline” shines through in her cover of the track, which is fairly faithful instrumentally and just as effortlessly cool as the original. Proving her penchant for 1990s alt-rock is just as strong as her love for the modern iteration of the genre, ‘Cannonball’ is one of Barnett’s best.
‘New Speedway Boogie’ by Grateful Dead
Barnett is clearly a fan of a tribute album. In 2016, she contributed to an homage to the Grateful Dead titled Day of the Dead. Amidst covers by the likes of Angel Olsen and Wilco, Barnett provided a cover of ‘New Speedway Boogie’. Featuring on the band’s 1970 record Workingman’s Dead, it was inspired by the events at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969.
The two artists may seem like an odd pairing, but Barnett only utilises that fact to well and truly make the song her own. She swaps the Americana stylings of the original for her effortless slacker sound, and, somehow, it works. Understated yet undeniably captivating, it further proves Barnett’s capability to take on songs outside of her own sphere.
