Courtney Barnett, one of Australia’s most acclaimed songwriters and guitarists, has returned with a blistering new single Stay In Your Lane, her first official release under Fiction Records. The track marks the beginning of a new era for the Melbourne artist, whose sharp observations and dry wit have redefined modern indie rock over the past decade.
Stay In Your Lane is Barnett’s first new song since her 2021 album Things Take Time, Take Time, and the follow-up to her 2023 instrumental album End Of The Day, written as the score to the award-winning documentary Anonymous Club. The new single is a visceral and guitar-heavy anthem packed with Barnett’s trademark lyricism, tackling personal reflection and frustration with her usual mix of humour and bite.
“Gotta get this off my chest,” she sings, “This never would’ve happened if I stayed in my lane, stayed the same way.” The line feels like a manifesto, a nod to the artistic evolution that has defined her since emerging on Melbourne’s indie scene more than a decade ago.
The accompanying video for Stay In Your Lane was directed by filmmaker Alex Ross Perry, best known for his work with Pavement and Sonic Youth. True to Perry’s style, the clip blends discomfort and surrealism, amplifying the raw energy of Barnett’s performance.
Barnett will perform the song live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on October 22, marking her return to US television for the first time in several years. Australian fans will see her headline Triple J’s 50th Anniversary Show in Hobart on 15 November, joined by Luca Brasi, Emily Wurramara and Gordon’s Grandson for what promises to be a landmark celebration at the Odeon Theatre.
Courtney Melba Barnett was born in Sydney in 1987 and grew up on the Northern Beaches before relocating to Hobart as a teenager. Her middle name pays tribute to Dame Nellie Melba, and like her namesake, Barnett has become one of Australia’s most distinctive cultural exports. After studying at the Tasmanian School of Art, she moved to Melbourne and immersed herself in its vibrant live scene, playing in local bands including Rapid Transit and Immigrant Union, the psych-country project founded by Brent DeBoer of The Dandy Warhols.
Barnett founded her own label Milk! Records in 2012 and released her debut EP I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris, which quickly earned her cult status among indie fans. International recognition followed with The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas (2013), featuring the breakout single Avant Gardener, praised for its wry depiction of a panic attack turned poetic.
Her debut album Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit arrived in 2015 and catapulted her onto the world stage. The record earned her four ARIA Awards and a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
In 2017, she teamed up with Philadelphia songwriter Kurt Vile for the collaborative album Lotta Sea Lice, a laid-back yet masterful record that showcased the easy chemistry between two of indie rock’s most idiosyncratic guitarists. A year later came Tell Me How You Really Feel, a darker and more introspective follow-up featuring the feminist anthem Nameless, Faceless.
Barnett’s most recent studio album, Things Take Time, Take Time (2021), found her embracing a more gentle and reflective tone, written during the pandemic and inspired by themes of patience, gratitude and connection.
Her 2023 release End Of The Day closed a chapter for Barnett as Milk! Records, the label she founded with then-partner Jen Cloher, wound down operations after twelve years.
TOUR DATES
TRIPLE J 50th ANNIVERSARY SHOW – HOBART
15 November – Odeon Theatre, Hobart
With Luca Brasi, Emily Wurramara and Gordon’s Grandson
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