Barns Courtney has been hard at work during quarantine and he surprised fans with the result: the four-track EP Hard To Be Alone, released by Capitol Records. “Five years ago, I sold all my things and gave up my apartment for a life on the road,” recalls Barns Courtney. “I made a family from strangers and a home in motels, and it’s honestly been the most terrifying and gratifying adventure I’ve ever experienced. Then the entire world went into lockdown. “These past few months are in such stark contrast to life in transit that even my writing process has changed. I’ve found myself back at my roots, confronted with all manner of lost lovers and loneliness. As if the moment the waters calmed, all my demons swam up to the surface to take a look around. This EP has been a sort of catharsis for all that. In a roundabout way, this moment of stillness was just what I needed.” While the songs are keenly observed, middle-of-the-night ruminations on choices made and lovers lost, this is by no means a quiet, stripped-down outing. The rousing “Missing You” is punctuated by Barns Courtney’s primal rock ‘n’ roll howl while “Dopamine” begins simply, with his deep, soul-shaking vocals atop piano, then swells to cinematic grandeur. Times may be unsettling, answers may prove evasive, but the rootsy, shuffling “Home” offers a flickering hope, with Barns Courtney declaring, “I’m holding out for providence to come and put me right.” Track Listing – Hard To Be Alone 1. Hard to be Alone 2. Home 3. Missing You 4. Dopamine