Courtney Barnett – One Thing At A Time
Courtney Barnett’s fourth studio album Creature of Habit arrives March 27 on Fiction Records, and “One Thing At A Time” is its focus track — the last single before the record lands. It’s the one that most directly states what the album is about. Written after Barnett relocated from Melbourne to Los Angeles and closed Milk! Records, her long-running label, Creature of Habit is built around the friction of navigating major life changes without fully knowing where they’re leading. That context sits inside the song without weighing it down.
The track runs about five minutes total, structured in two distinct halves. For the first two, it’s a stomping rhythm-section groove — Flea on bass, everything locked in and purposeful — while Barnett works through the kind of internal spiral most people will recognize: over-analysis, pattern repetition, the same frustrations circling back. Halfway through, the lyrics stop. What follows is a guitar solo that builds for three minutes, getting more intense as it goes. It’s a simple structural idea, but it works because the release feels genuinely earned rather than tacked on. The transition is unhurried — no gear-shift, just the moment where words run out and the guitar takes over. I find that more affecting than any big finish would have been.
Earlier singles from the album had already mapped some of the record’s terrain — we covered “Site Unseen” with Waxahatchee in W04 and returned for “Mantis” in W09. “One Thing At A Time” feels like the clearest statement of intent of the lot. The video was directed by Lance Bangs. Tour kicks off in North America in May, with UK dates already underway.
It’s a song that earns its runtime, and the solo at the end is the kind of thing that stays with you in a way that’s hard to fully account for.
Tour Dates:
Europe:
- March 27, 2026 – Kingston upon Thames, UK – Circuit Kingston
- March 28, 2026 – Manchester, UK – Band on the Wall
- March 29, 2026 – Sunderland, UK – Independent
- March 30, 2026 – Hebden Bridge, UK – Trades Club
- April 1, 2026 – Bedford, UK – Esquires
- April 2, 2026 – Margate, UK – Where Else
North America:
- May 1, 2026 – Austin, TX – Radio/East *
- May 2, 2026 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall *
- May 3, 2026 – Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory *
- May 5, 2026 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
- May 6, 2026 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle *
- May 8, 2026 – Richmond, VA – The National *
- May 9, 2026 – Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre ^* LOW TICKETS
- May 10, 2026 – Washington, DC – The Anthem ^*
- May 12, 2026 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore ^*
- May 13, 2026 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner ^*
- May 15, 2026 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee *
- May 16, 2026 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre *
- May 19, 2026 – St. Louis, MO – The Hawthorn *
- May 20, 2026 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall *
- May 21, 2026 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre *
- May 22, 2026 – Toronto, ON – History *
- August 11, 2026 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater +
- August 12, 2026 – McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre +
- August 14, 2026 – Newport, KY – MegaCorp Pavilion +
- August 15, 2026 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman +
- August 18, 2026 – Seattle, WA – TBA “+
- August 19, 2026 – Portland, OR – Pioneer Courthouse Square “+
- August 21, 2026 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom +
- August 22, 2026 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at The Complex +
- August 24, 2026 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24 +
- August 26, 2026 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore + SOLD OUT
- August 27, 2026 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore + LOW TICKETS
- August 29, 2026 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium “+
^ with Momma | * with Truman Sinclair | ” with Built to Spill | + with Zoh Amba
