Barns Courtney has today unveiled his brand new track ‘Kicks’, taken from the highly-anticipated debut album The Attractions Of Youth, out September 29th on Virgin EMI, featuring the previous singles ‘Fire’, ‘Glitter & Gold’ and ‘Golden Dandelions’.
‘Kicks’ is a three minute foot stomper that oozes attitude from the off, with Barns’ distortion-drenched vocals at the very forefront. Featuring tenacious melodies throughout, with doses of his trademark falsetto, the chorus bursts into life, providing the unbreakable foundations for what is a sure-fire anthem in the making.
The Attractions Of Youth is an impressive statement from the Anglo-American troubadour. Featuring the already successful singles, he kicks on to deliver a plethora of blues/folk-tinged pop anthems. From the Kings Of Leon-esque americana excitement of ‘Hands’ & ‘Hobo Rocket’, to the more stripped-back sounds of ‘Goodbye John Smith’ and ‘Little Boy’, this debut showcases his versatility and effortless ability to adapt. As well as soaring vocals appearing as a constant throughout, Barns Courtney has placed a firm marker in the sand with his maiden release.
Despite having only released a handful of singles, Barns Courtney has already experienced more highs and lows than most artists could wish to encounter in an entire lifetime. His is a story of family turmoil, bad record industry deals, homelessness, serendipitous meetings with movie moguls and sheer talent and hard work winning out against the odds. Barns’ confessional, life-affirming blues and rock ‘n’ roll anthems-in-waiting draw on the breadth of these events, the positives and negatives of his experiences’ baring their scars for all to see.
‘Glitter & Gold’ reached #1 in the UK Spotify Viral Charts in 2016, while it’s follow up ‘Fire’ has to date been streamed more than 12,000,000 times on Spotify and saw Barns perform on Conan O’Brien’s talk show in the US, to rave reviews at SXSW and at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, as well as securing him support slots with the likes of Blur and The Libertines on tour.
In his singular pursuit of creating the perfect rock ‘n’ roll show, Barns broke his foot in three places while diving off stage in the US earlier in July (watch the incident & aftermath here). Powering through, shows were re-scheduled and he returned to the UK at the end of August to complete an incredible sold-out set at London’s Camden Assembly and a jam-packed Festival Republic tent at Reading.
Barns is now gearing up for an exciting full headline tour this month which will see him play ten dates across the UK.
THE ATTRACTIONS OF YOUTH – Tracklisting
Fire
Glitter & Gold
Hands (Album Version)
Golden Dandelions
Hellfire
Hobo Rocket
Hobo Outside Tesco, London (Interlude)
Champion
Kicks
Never Let You Down
Goodbye John Smith
Little Boy
Rather Die
The Attractions Of Youth
UK HEADLINE TOUR
Sept 15th – Brighton, Hope & Ruin
Sept 16th – Leicester, The Cookie
Sept 18th – Newcastle, Think Tank?
Sept 19th – Edinburgh, The Voodoo Rooms
Sept 20th – Glasgow, The Hug & Pint
Sept 22nd – Manchester, Soup Kitchen
Sept 23rd – Sheffield, Picture House Social
Sept 25th – Bristol, Louisiana
Sept 26th – Oxford, The Cellar
Sept 29th – London, Dingwalls
Tickets on sale now – http://www.seetickets.com/tour/barns-courtney
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photography by Paige Sara