Having just made her triple j Hottest 100 debut with her stand out anthem “Girlie Bits”, Ali Barter has revealed her newest single “Cigarette”. The news comes with the much anticipated release of Barter’s debut album; an offering full of energy and magnetism, energised with a profound sense of introspection and purpose. It’s time to get to know A Suitable Girl better (March 24, Inertia Music / Rhythmethod).
Chatting to Veronica & Lewis on triple j about the album, Barter explains that she “just wanted to be really honest about my feelings. I’ve done three EPs and I found the more that I did – produced things, explained things, covered things in metaphor – I didn’t feel I was saying things that are true to me. So with this album… I wanted it to be really natural and authentic.”
If ever there was an auspicious time for a body of work to make its mark in the world, A Suitable Girl’s time is now. The melodic sway of “Cigarette” conjures the puncturing experience of romantic invalidation (“I’m not the girl you wanted me to be”) with graceful command and rattling guitar. Where lead single “Girlie Bits,” manifests in frustration, “Please Stay” captures the gentle pleading of a woman feeling messed up and craving affection, with an adeptly Nina Gordon-like, almost cinematic affectation — both sweet and muddy.
Those filmic sensations are the curling, pulsating waves which Barter rides across the whole record. “I kind of wanted an album like a movie soundtrack,” she says. “When I have too much time on my hands I imagine what part of the movie each song would play in.”
The scene in which “Live With You” plays would be right at the film’s climax – a revelatory moment that calls for long, breathy vocal highs and blistering guitar solos. The kind of song that could make anyone burst into a liberating run while out walking.
The honeyed crescendo of “Tokyo” on the other hand, showcases Barter at her most vulnerable, emotionally – hurt and even hopeless. Yet there is a power even here. With her heart on her sleeve and electric guitar strapped, Barter’s poignant yet common meditations become our medicine.
In that sense, the entirety of A Suitable Girl, with all its nuanced emotional snapshots, becomes one big cleanse. Kind of like the feeling you get when you cry bittersweet, ultimately happy tears at the peak of your favourite movie.
Taking its name from Vikram Seth’s novel, A Suitable Boy, the album is also about the power of self-acceptance. Like rock music, that’s a power that reverberates. It can spread out and touch listeners like a wave. It’s as simple as “owning the thoughts that go through your head,” says Barter. “I have them, you have them. We can let them go.”
The album was produced by Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy), and mixed by Magnus Lindberg (Sweden), David Tolomei (USA) and Oscar Dawson. In writing A Suitable Girl, Ali explored the process of collaborating with a number of songwriters. From the familiar, Dawson and Stephen Mowat, to the new, Bertie Blackman, Jonathan Boulet and Thom Macken, internationals Sydney Wayser and Harlan Silverman and long time inspiration Adalita.
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