English-born, American-educated Barns Courtney has released his video for the outstanding ‘Glitter & Gold’, a bluesy rocker that is impossible not to stamp along to. In fact the video features Barns stamping along to the explosive beat.
When this song was first released it went on to top the UK Spotify Viral Chart and got to number 2 on the iTunes Alternative Chart. It’s been added to the BBC Introducing Playlist and has clocked up over one million plays on YouTube as well as over 3.5 million plays on Spotify. I would be astonished if Barns Courtney is not a name on everyone’s lips in 2017.
Apparently when the track was recorded the percussion used was random things like banging old film cartons, slamming filing cabinets and stacking scissor snips which creates a distorted beat and maybe explains the presence of the inter cut black and white film footage in the video which is interspersed with shots of Barns at a party where events surround his languid form and excellent live shots of a moody Barns beating his well worn acoustic guitar for percussion, a feature of Barns’ live performances this year. The video has a bluesy feel and is slightly reminiscent of the opening credits of ‘True Blood’ in the way it flashes old film footage between shots of a very now young singer.
Barns played over 80 solo shows in the USA earlier this year with just him and his well loved acoustic guitar which culminated in a full band performance on Conan O’Brien in June. Just recently, he played a full band gig to a sell out Borderline in London and will be playing his biggest headline date this year at XoYo in London in November. I’ve seen him previously at the Barn on the Farm festival in July and at Borderline. Watch the video, get tickets, Barns Courtney is a young singer who might just help to reduce the amount of EDM dominating the charts recently.
