Courtney Barnett has conquered the international music critics and now looks set for home glory, too, topping the shortlists for the 2015 Aria awards with nominations in eight categories, including album of the year for her debut release Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit.
The Melbourne singer-songwriter may call herself Pedestrian at Best, but the Arias judges clearly think otherwise, also nominating her for best independent release, rock album, female artist, breakthrough artist, and the publicly voted categories best Australian live act and video.
Barnett told Guardian Australia it was a “surreal, strange feeling” to be nominated for so many awards.
The singer has collaborated with Jack White as part of a series of singles produced by the Detroit rocker called Blue Series, joining a string of high-profile and lesser-known guests from around the world, including Beck, Laura Marling, First Aid Kit and Tom Jones.
Third Man Records, founded by White, released a statement calling 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 statement said the “wry-and-dry songstress” had stopped by Third Man Studios in Nashville during a long weekend in 2015 to record two tracks, “and damn did she ever deliver”.
The limited edition seven-inch vinyl will be released on 16 October and features Boxing Day Blues Revisited, a companion piece to the closing track from Barnett’s debut album, and a cover of the classic 1979 Australian track Shivers, written by Rowland S Howard of the Birthday Party.
The song opens with the lines: “I’ve been contemplating suicide / but it really doesn’t suit my style,” which Barnett delivers in her signature deadpan style.
Barnett told Guardian Australia she had long been a fan of Howard and the song had been recorded in just a few takes, shortly after her appearance at Bonnaroo festival in Nashville. “It was kind of a dark, mental time of touring, so I think it comes across in the song. It sounds really heavy and sombre.”
She said she suffered from anxiety and sometimes struggled to cope with her newfound success. “You’re thrown in the deep end of the pool, and not being good swimmer – that’s how it feels sometimes. There are the late nights, extreme highs and lows – all that stuff, it’s pretty brutal.”
She recently had a month-long break at home. “I’ve been writing songs, doing the garden, hanging out with my cat. It’s nice.”
Of working with the former White Stripes musician, she said having White and “that weight of someone’s musical knowledge” in the studio control room “puts you in a different mood”.
Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit was released in March to resounding approval by critics and peaked at No 4 in the Australian album charts. The album also found success overseas, reaching No 20 in the Billboard album chart and No 16 in the UK album chart.
In his five-star review, the Guardian Australia writer Everett True called Barnett “intriguing, compelling and down-to-earth, yet surreal and morbidly funny” and said she had “a photographer’s eye for detail when it comes to the otherwise mundane”.
At the Wednesday announcement, Barnett was also commended for her skill as a visual artist, picking up her first Aria award for best cover art. Barnett said she was surprised to win an Aria for an artwork she “drew with a felt-tip pen on a piece of printer paper”.
Of the other awards announced on Wednesday, producer and engineer of the year went to Kevin Parker from Tame Impala for his work on the band’s latest album, Currents. The release has also been nominated for album of the year.
Other early Arias awarded included best jazz album, won by Barney McAll for Mooroolbark, and best classical album by Tamara-Anna Cislowska for Peter Sculthorpe: Complete Works for Solo Piano. Best original soundtrack/cast/show album went to the artists appearing on the live recording of ABC radio station Triple J’s 40-year anniversary concert Beat the Drum at the Sydney festival.
The Yolngu singer-songwriter Gurrumul from Arnhem Land won best world music album with his release The Gospel Album, breaking a three-year winning streak by the oud player Joseph Tawadros, who had again been nominated this year.
Tailing Barnett with seven nominations were the electronic duo Hermitude for their No 1 album Dark Night Sweet Light and the singer-songwriter Vance Joy for Dream Your Life Away, which also hit No 1 on the Australian album charts. Both are in the running for album of the year, best independent release, best Australian live act and best video.
Among the artists picking up multiple nominations were Daniel Johns, the indie rockers Gang of Youths and the Brisbane singer-songwriter Jarryd James. The electronic producers Flight Facilities had three nominations, including album of the year with their release Down to Earth.
• The Aria awards will be broadcast live from the Star in Sydney on Channel Ten on 26 November
