“Sorry that I’ve been slow, you know it takes a little time for me to show how I really feel. Won’t you meet me somewhere in the middle? On our own time zone.”– Courtney Barnett sings in her singularly defiant tone on the last track of the 2021 album ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’. The Australian based singer-songwriter does indeed take a while to show her true feelings, “I overthink what I have to say and then I don’t say anything”, she candidly states in regards to being particularly inarticulate in interviews. Her music, on the other hand, describes her emotional state with evocative immediacy, running the gamut of anxiety to fury to affection. She has gained international success through doing so, giving voice to be a generation of eye contact averse introverts everywhere.
Danny Cohen’s new documentary ‘Anonymous Club’ chronicles Barnett’s tour of her 2018 album ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’ and the production of her 2021 album ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’, giving access into the highs and lows of the artistic pursuit. Much like Barnett’s music the documentary is an intimate, emotionally driven affair. Shot on 16mm the film is imbued with a granular texture thats draws out pastels and warm hues. Cohen’s lens is much more interested in the small in-betweens than giving an overview of the musicians career. Some of the most evocative moments are that of Barnett going through the most mundane activities; packing her bags, hoovering, ironing. The pretence of the show business lifestyle seems to concave as the camera documents the admin of existence. It’s particularly candid when it comes to the logistics of touring, the unending hustle of trying to make money from that which you love and the inevitable tolls this has upon the pursuit itself.
An aspect of Barnetts career that I have always been in awe of is her openness. This extends from her lyrics to the way she releases her music. For her latest album she released all the stems for every song on her website allowing you to hear and isolate each individual instrument. She doesn’t seems precious about her art in the best way possible. There is a joy in seeing the songs from her latest album in their infancy, the words not quite fully formed as she works out the kinks, doing so with shocking ease and humility. I only wish there was more of it, although admittedly this is not what the film is about.
“The pretence of the show business lifestyle seems to concave as the camera documents the admin of existence.”
Danny Cohen sights the 1967 Bob Dylan documentary ‘Don’t Look Back’ as influence for ‘Anonymous Club’. Both films seems a lot more interested in the aesthetics of a performer and the line between intrusion and a world that is not, in reality, particularly interesting. We are fascinated by artists who make things we connect with because we want to know how they did it, or get a closer look at that which we find personally revelatory. However, inevitably, we find no greater truth to the art from the artist, they almost exists tangentially. That instead we find the laborious truth that making things is illusively gruelling.
In November of 2022 I was fortunate enough to see Barnett perform at the Roundhouse. Her intimate music takes on a new life in such a spectacular venue. Her commanding presence and mastery of the guitar makes her transcend from indie darling to an out and out rockstar. This image of Barnett almost contradicts the awkward uncertainty ‘Anonymous Club’ conveys. In one particularly telling moment in the film Barnett anxiously high kicks the air in the green room before a show. “I need to remember that people have paid to come here to see me because they like me” she reminds herself. “Unless they’ve gifted the tickets on, or if they hate bought the tickets, or….”
