Things Take Time, Take Time

Highlighting her numerous talents, which include being a gifted poet, a formidable musician and an astute empath, Barnett’s new record is a testament to the value of taking things slowly and another high-water mark in a career seemingly destined for many more.

Worth waiting for, waiting for. [Dec 2021, p.23]

This album shines when Barnett allows some light to get in. There’s no immediate pull here but it rewards a listeners' patience, especially for those who preferred her breezy EPs over the bustle of her first two albums. It may be less consistent than her previous albums, but Barnett’s newfound willingness to be vulnerable means there’s every chance it will be remembered as her most significant work to date.

What results are an array of kinder, softer songs that still fit cozily into her output.

Things Take Time, Take Time is charming, finding the perfect note for the mood it’s trying to evoke, and even at its smallest and most benign, it’s captivating, the kind of album destined to become a favorite of a very specific subset of Courtney fans. It feels well-worn too, a well-deserved breather after three near-concurrent classics.

‘Things Take Time, Take Time’ sees her breaching into a new territory while still residing in the safe net of her previous sound, making it an album to introduce her to a new audience and a pleasing one to entertain her already exciting fanbase.

Things Take Time, Take Time is a tender, comforting salve of a listen, and will be one of those albums that you keep returning to when life seems a bit too much.

For a record born of introspection, Things Take Time, Take Time is surprisingly fun.

Her brilliant third album, Things Take Time, Take Time, is her most reserved and thoughtful yet, full of everyday observation and wry wisdom — it grows slowly, but pay attention and you’ll grow with it.

On “Write a List of Things to Look Forward To”, backed by beautifully textured Americana instrumentation, she wonders why we keep trying: “We did our best, but what does that really mean?” This album is Barnett navigating her way out of her own head, reminding herself – and her listeners – that it’s good to care about things.

It’s a strange mixture of comfort and malaise, but it’s probably the most honest document of the past eighteen months, too.

True to title ‘Things Take Time, Time Time’s unshowy songs take hold more slowly, but Barnett’s small snatches of happiness grip you all the same.

For a record about captive states - isolation, anxiety, romantic hope - Things Take Time, Take Time knows how to move. [Dec 2021, p.85]

Things Take Time, Take Time feels like a collection of thoughtful postcards, with us all being the lucky recipients.

A few songs drag a little, but even those have interesting flourishes.

Whilst being worlds away from debut Sometimes I Sit And Think, Sometimes I Just Sit, Barnett’s latest sonic venture marks a new era for the Aussie musician, and one we’re all the better for.

While it may not be the most sonically exciting record crafted under lockdown, it’s at its best when encapsulating the emotional regression felt during that time—especially when people were so starved for connection, they sometimes forgot how to communicate clearly with others.