Album: The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas
Year: 2014
Ever hear a song and instantly recognize that the artist singing was a completely new and original voice?
That’s what happened to me the first time I ever heard Courtney Barnett’s “Avant Gardener.” I was blown away by how she was able to combine elements of previous things I loved into something totally fresh.
With the music sounding like the Velvet Underground circa VU, augmented by spectral keyboards and squealing guitar wandering in and out, “Avant Gardener” is the tale of a no-good, very bad day.
So i do some gardening
Anything to take my mind away from where it’s supposed to be.
The nice lady next door talks of green beds
And all the nice things that she wants to plant in them
I wanna grow tomatoes on the front steps.
Sunflowers, bean sprouts, sweet corn and radishes.
I feel pro-active
I pull out weeds
All of a sudden
I’m having trouble breathing in.
I’m having trouble breathing in.
I’m having trouble breathing in.
I’m having trouble breathing in
“Avant Gardener” is perhaps the catchiest song ever written about having a health scare, and I guarantee you it’s the only song in history where the hook is “I’m not that good at breathing in.”
And then, of course, there is this utterly revelatory couplet, which is by indie law is mandatory to quote in all pieces about Courtney Barnett:
The paramedic thinks I’m clever cos I play guitar
I think she’s clever cos she stops people dying
It’s such a perfect telling detail: you can actually envision the scene where she’s on the ambulance and the paramedic makes some remark, like “oh, you’re that singer I’ve seen.” It’s also a way of Courtney to take the piss out of herself.
In any event, it says here that Courtney Barnett is a major talent, and twenty years from now, we’ll have a whole slew of amazing, well-observed albums from her. “Avant Gardener” is not only one of the best songs of the past few years, it’s clearly only the beginning.
Official Video for “Avant Gardener”