Last week, Courtney Barnett released her first new track of 2019, the roaring, nervous “Everybody Here Hates You.” The song, released for Record Store Day, was apparently inspired by Jeff Buckley, but musically it sounds more like Barnett’s first album Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. Barnett is a wonderfully observant songwriter, and in “Everybody Here Hates You,” she turns the banality of anxiety into some fascinating, beautiful music.
If the song is a metaphorical trip inside the mind of a worried person, the video for “Everybody Here Hates You” takes that theme literally. In the video, directed by Danny Cohen, Barnett and her band begin rehearsing the song at a big, empty venue. Right in time for the first chorus, the camera delves inside Barnett’s brain, where the rest of the video takes place. She and her band perform “Everybody Here Hates You” against the cushy walls of her brain, the synapses firing off behind them like twinkle lights. Towards the end, the walls start to close in, making for a claustrophobic (but evocative) ending visual. Also, Barnett matches her guitar to the color of her brain, which is a fun touch.
Watch the video for “Everybody Here Hates You” above.
