Guitars rule on the new Courtney Barnett album “Tell Me How You Really Feel.” The Nirvana inspired bashing combined with her deadpan vocals make this a welcome anomaly in a music world increasingly dominated by synths and auto-tune.

This is Barnett’s second album, not counting a duets projects she released last year with Kurt Vile and the double ep that was her first release. The difference between this and her official debut in 2015 is her perspective. The songs on the new album are more personal, told from the first person, eschewing the storyteller mode of her last album.

Sung through a crooked grin, her witty, sarcastic lyrics are laced with timely references and self examination. She frames much of her songs as if she’s talking about someone she knows while really meaning herself.

With rock and roll dimished on modern pop radio, Courtney Barnett is like an avenging angel whose garage rock sound on”Tell Me How You Really Feel” is, in itself, a flip of the bird to current music trends. Her jarring, unique delivery is a promise of how inspiring rock and roll really is.   

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