Courtney Barnett Hurtles Through Space in New Single, "Need a Little Time"

Courtney Barnett is readying the release of her sophomore LP, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Last month, she started us off with the insistent, politically tinged lead single “Nameless, Faceless.” On Thursday she followed it up with a second taste, the slower “Need a Little Time,” complete with a cinematic video directed by frequent collaborator Danny Cohen.

“Need a Little Time” pushes Barnett’s increasingly emotive voice to the fore in a song that extols the virtues of having a little space in every relationship, romantic or otherwise. “Everybody wants to have their say,” she sings, “forever waiting for some car crash / I need a little time out.” The gorgeous video makes the most of the metaphor, placing Barnett in the role of a human traveler of the cosmos who morphs into another sort of being as she hurtles through time and space and ultimately finds some peace.

Read: The 12 Best Courtney Barnett Songs

“I decided to play on the meaning of the song,” said Cohen. “Courtney needs some time away from herself (and you). I didn’t want to show Courtney leaving her friends/family/fans etc. It needed to be more metaphorical. Courtney floats through space and time, ends up in some isolated part of the universe. She finally has found some time alone, just Courtney and her guitar, singing in space without a care in the world.”

Courtney Barnett Hurtles Through Space in New Single, “Need a Little Time”

The second single from "Tell Me How You Really Feel" comes with a trippy video courtesy of Danny Cohen.