Straight Shooter

"It's funny now, but I was doing some gardening and I had a weird allergic reaction and I still don't know what it is because I didn't go to the doctor after it. I couldn't breathe and I got this rash on my arms from the plants and I had to go to hospital. It was very dramatic; it was a bit too dramatic. It was silly,” she laughs. “It was all these weeds down the side of the house, y'know, 'the pathway that doesn't get used'. We started this cleaning rampage and that was the first day of it. Then I ended up going to hospital so we never finished it. We've just cleaned the house again this weekend gone and I wasn't allowed to go in the garden.”

So – if you survive – anaphylactic shock does have some upsides it seems, and in addition to being able to now skive off of household chores, Barnett also walked away with a gem of a song. But that's just how it is for the 24-year-old Melbourne songwriter; inspiration seems to reveal itself from the most unlikely of circumstances. It's this engaging lyrical honesty and disarming storytelling, a genuine snapshot into real life as we know it, which has vaulted Barnett into the domestic psyche since the release of last year's bedroom EP, I've Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris.

“I guess I don't do it intentionally, but I like hearing songs like that so it's just how I end up writing,” she explains in her strong Aussie tone. “It just feels more realistic than painting a picture with poetic and flowery words – it's nice to go straight to the point. I love [metaphors] at the best of times but sometimes its [good] to be completely matter-a-fact about everything. I figure there's so many songs in the world and there's about a million songs about the exact same thing. I try not to write love songs because I think they're so easy, so I try and pick a certain, very distinct story and write a song about it.”

Although she's familiar around our traps following tours as a member of Immigrant Union and recent solo supports for artists such as Jens Lekman, this will actually be Barnett's first run of Queensland dates fronting her band, The Courtney Barnetts. Made up of Immigrant Union bandmates and good mates, she's loving the current pack mentality. “They've been awesome,” she champions. “They're the most supportive guys and super talented, obviously.”

That just leaves us giggling at the name, really. “I do a lot of things for that small percentage,” she admits, “but a lot of stuff I do is sarcastic and I think a lot of people don't get it, but if only five per cent [of people] get it and find something funny out of that then good. But it's just about finding that dynamic, and like I said they're super supportive, they really encourage my songwriting and... I dunno, they're awesome.”

With the band gelling as one and the success of her Triffids repping single History Eraser, no doubt we're going to get plenty more of that vibrant raw colour painted for us on Barnett's second EP, pencilled in for a release later this year. She's coy when asked for any cheeky scoops, but judging by her itchy feet, we can expect plenty more music in the future.

“I just want to go ahead and make a whole album, I can't be bothered doing the next EP,” she sighs. “I'm a bit impatient, I just want to get onto the next thing.”

Courtney Barnett will be playing the following dates:

Thursday 21 March - Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 23 March - Brighton Up Bar, Sydney NSW
Sunday 24 March - Hills Are Alive Festival, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 28 March - Toff In Town, Melbourne VIC