With deep crooning vocals and soft bass guitars, singer-songwriter Barns Courtney drops his new tune “Hard To Be Alone”.
The alt-rock tune focuses on Barns struggles to be alone as he reminisces about his long lost love. Written and recorded in isolation, the tune transports us to the end of a high-school prom, slowing dancing to the simmering romantic melody. Set to release his upcoming EP later this year, we caught up with the rising star talking inspirations and life post-pandemic.
Check out the interview below…
Congratulations on “Hard To Be Alone” – what was the song inspired by?
Five years ago, I sold all my things and gave up my apartment for a life on the road. I made a family from strangers and a home in motels, and it’s honestly been the most terrifying and gratifying adventure I’ve ever experienced. Then the entire world went into lockdown. These past few months are in such stark contrast to life in transit that even my writing process has changed. I’ve found myself back at my roots, confronted with all manner of loss and loneliness. As if the moment the waters calmed, all my daemons swam up to the surface to take a look around. This EP has been a sort of catharsis for all that. The bookends are about one person in particular. I had a brief romance in between tours with a girl who looked like a Warhol runaway. The melodies had been bouncing around in my head for a few years but didn’t really crystalize until the clock stopped. She was delicate and dangerous. Constantly at odds with the world. Riding the cat carpet between a hospital bed and her divan. Deliriously spouting love poems and lighting cigarettes with a blowtorch. There was something utterly captivating about this way of life that I could never quite put my finger on. Living on the brink of self-destruction. A footstep from the edge. And then I was off, and it was over. I imagined she might come with me.
The tour compilations visuals – there’s melancholy and a reminder of life pre and post-pandemic – what did you want to convey with them?
It’s not only a commentary on the days lost to COVID-19. It’s a genuine snapshot of life on the road. The excitement is often paired with a bittersweet feeling of isolation. As author Stephen Davis so eloquently puts it, “the crushing loneliness and depression of a life lived on the road, for the moment, without the normal anchors that keep normal people sane and in balance.” And to take that a step further, the bizarre duality of being surrounded by so much love and yet being totally unable to connect to one person.
What do you want fans to take from the new song and music video?:
I want them to connect to the story on their own terms. Draw their own connections to their own personal lives. That’s all I ever want really.