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COURTNEY BARNETT

MTV Unplugged (Milk!/Remote Control)

hough her studio output is damn near impeccable, Courtney Barnett is a concert crusher at heart. Her shows are characteristically monstrous, manic and magnetic. Her MTV Unplugged session could not be more diametric. The CB3 are in tow, of course, albeit stripped to their basics while Barnett herself wields a bright, resonant acoustic and sings drier and more pastoral than (Archie Roach)—or when the final refrain of rolls around and you're forced to wonder if Leonard Cohen foresaw such beauty when he wrote it—the argument falls flat. Dismally short but delightfully sweet, MTV is an essential listen; not just for her own fans but also for fans of any sirenic, emotionally rousing music.