Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett is back with her first new music of 2019. Following the release of her second studio album Tell Me How You Really Feel and standalone single “Small Talk,” Barnett premiered a new track on Australian radio show Triple J. “Everybody Here Hates You” is a brilliant bit of fuzzed-out rock.
During her Triple J visit, Barnett said she wrote the song during a period when she was listening to a lot of Jeff Buckley. (She doesn’t say it, but the title is presumably inspired by Buckley’s “Everybody Here Wants You.”) Barnett channels Buckley’s honesty, but in her own riotous, rebellious style. The song’s refrain of “we’re gonna tell everyone it’s ok” is a rallying cry for the hurting, healing weirdos of the world.
While Tell Me How You Really Feel saw Barnett embracing a more cohesive, political theme, “Everybody Here Hates You” is a return to the tossed-off, confessional style of her 2015 label debut, Sometimes I Just Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. Barnett can do both brilliantly, but her sense of wry sense of humor and observational songwriting are a gift.
“Everybody Here Hates You” is Barnett’s release for Record Store Day. On April 13, she will release a physical 7″ of the track with “Small Talk” as a B-side vis Rough Trade. You can listen to the song above.
