Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett announces new album & tour, shares "Nameless, Faceless"

Courtney Barnett recently released a teaser video called Tell Me How You Really Feel which featured her performing new music and ended with a short clip of a proper studio recording. It looked a lot like it was hinting at a new album, and it was indeed. Tell Me How You Really Feel is the title, and it comes out on May 18 via Mom + Pop, Marathon Artists, and Milk! Records. It features contributions from Kim Deal (The Breeders, Pixies) and Kim’s sister/Breeders bandmate Kelley Deal. The first single, “Nameless, Faceless,” is out now, and it’s a nice dose of Courtney’s grungy indie rock with a powerful chorus that references the Margaret Atwood quote, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them; women are afraid that men will kill them.” Courtney talked to Pitchfork about that one:

There are a few songs on your new album that are quite angry, about misogyny and the patriarchy. One of them, “Nameless, Faceless,” includes that paraphrased Margaret Atwood quote, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them; women are afraid that men will kill them.”

I actually lifted it from an article, not knowing it was her quote. I didn’t know who she was until I saw “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and I didn’t make the connection until I was getting the album credits together. But I’d seen it a couple times in things I was reading, and I remember being like, “That is the strongest point.” Because it’s so dumbed-down, it’s kind of funny—the way it flips is funny—even though it’s not a funny thing at all.

Watch the stop-motion video for the song (by Lucy Dyson) and check out the tracklist below. That’s the album artwork above.

Courtney has also announced a US tour surrounding her appearances at Shaky Knees, Forecastle, and Newport Folk Festival.

The tour includes a Brooklyn show with Palehound on May 19 at Music Hall of Williamsburg, which is a pretty small venue for Courtney at this point. Tickets are on sale now, and they’ll probably go fast. Each ticket includes a CD or LP copy of the new album. All tour dates are listed below.

Tracklist
01 Hopefulessness
02 City Looks Pretty
03 Charity
04 Need a Little Time
05 Nameless, Faceless
06 I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch
07 Crippling Self Doubt and a General Lack of Self-Confidence
08 Help Your Self
09 Walkin’ on Eggshells
10 Sunday Roast

Courtney Barnett — 2018 Tour Dates
APR 29 SUN Fortress Festival Fort Worth, TX
MAY 4 FRI Shaky Knees Festival Atlanta, GA
MAY 6 SUN August Hall San Francisco, CA
MAY 10 THU The Sanctuary at Pico Union Los Angeles, CA
MAY 14 MON Saengerrunde Hall Austin, TX
MAY 16 WED Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA*
MAY 19 SAT Music Hall Of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY*
MAY 21 MON Preston Bradley Hall at Tiffany Dome Chicago, IL
MAY 25 FRI BBC Biggest Weekend Belfast, United Kingdom
JUN 3 SUN All Points East London, United Kingdom
JUL 13 FRI Forecastle Festival Louisville, KY
JUL 28 SAT Newport Folk Festival Newport, RI

* – w/ Palehound