Indie-folk artist Courtney Barnett has just released the A-side to her new 7-inch single, Boxing Day Blues Revisited, recorded recently with Jack White in his Nashville studio. The pair also recorded a stunning cover of Rowland S. Howard’s track Shiver, which we got to hear a couple of weeks ago and true to title, gave us all kinds of goose bumps.
Both tracks delve into a more refined and languid sound for Barnett, with guitars meandering along with a deep southern drawl and her voice drawing back from rockier moments. It’s a refreshing little taste of what the future might hold for the artist. But don’t fear, her witty and poignant lyricism is still perfectly in tact. There is a distinctly stripped back Jack White feel, and we hope this won’t be the last we hear from this union.
This is the first time that Barnett has collaborated with the White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather/solo artist, and we hope it’s not the last. Kind of blending each artists’ unique and very distinctive style together, it’s an interesting track from all involved.
The track has been released as part of the “Blue Series of Singles“, curated by White via his label Third Man Records. Other artists involved include Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Beck, Tom Jones, Stephen Colbert and, er, Insane Clown Posse.
Third Man shared the following statement about the track:
“Third Man is privileged to work with Melbourne, Australia’s very own Courtney Barnett, a sharp singer-songwriter-guitarist who has quickly made her mark on garage pop fans worldwide with her witty, self-deprecating, and authentic observations turned into raw, stream-of-consciousness lyrics and blunt melodies. The wry-and-dry songstress stopped by Third Man Studios in Nashville over a long weekend this summer to record a couple tracks and damn did she ever deliver.”
The track, which you can hear below, is the epilogue to Boxing Day Blues, the final track on Barnett’s incredible album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.
You can get the two-piece as a 7″ from Third Man Records.