Is it weird that I associate Aussie alt-rocker Courtney Barnett with Aussie comedian Hannah Gadsby? They don’t look much alike but I don’t think it’s a crazy comparison to make. Both possess the straight-talking, cigarettes-and-VB aura of Australiana. They both spent at least some of their formative years in Tasmania. Each has succeeded in traditionally blokey fields – Barnett in her oh-so-Aussie blend of pub-rock and country; Gadsby in the testosterone-thick arena of stand-up comedy – despite their decidedly un-blokey material: autobiographical, upfront about mental illness, invested in society, unapologetically gay.

Continue reading my review at The Essential.