Courtney Barnett returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday for a performance of “Before You Gotta Go”. The song appears on the Australian singer-songwriter’s latest album, “Things Take Time, Take Time”, available now.
Don’t be fooled by Barnett’s trio configuration, as the performance begins with a pre-recorded drum track. Courtney gives off a bedroom aesthetic with the stripped-down guitar and vocal performance for the first verse before the rest of the band drops in for the second. Another verse later, more pre-loaded instrumentation comes in with a synth-like guitar medley that sits atop the rhythm.
There are some sour notes in there at one point, but Barnett just smiles it off. If anything, it picks up the emotion of the performance that was until that point something of a Prozac-mellowed daze. The emotion rises to a boil at the bridge before returning to a simmer and covering for the next minute, or until rice is tender.
The Fat Angel Sings 