Things Take Time, Take Time

The album was recorded in Melbourne and Sydney from late 2020 to early 2021 with producer/drummer Stella Mozgawa.^[5] The Vinyl Factory called the album "a finely-woven collage of snapshots" and said it "dives into Barnett's own psyche to explore love, renewal, healing and self-discovering".^[6] The first single, "Rae Street", was released on 7 July 2021; the music video follows the residents of a suburban street, all of whom are played by Barnett.^[7] Later that day, Barnett released the 13-second non-album song "All Eyes on the Pavement" under the pseudonym Oliver Paul, the name of the protagonist of her 2015 song "Elevator Operator".^[8] The song was also released through a record label called A Crabby Mettle Neutron, an anagram of Barnett's full name.^[8]

The second single, "Before You Gotta Go", was released on 11 August; its music video was released on 13 September.^[9] The third single, "Write a List of Things to Look Forward to", was released with a music video on 29 September.^[10] "If I Don't Hear from You Tonight" was released on 9 November 2021, as the album's fourth single alongside 2022 Australian tour announcement.^[11]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Clash	8/10[13]
Gigwise	[14]
The Independent	[15]
The Line of Best Fit	7/10[16]
NME	[17]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[18]
Rolling Stone	[19]
Slant	[20]
Uncut	9/10[21]

At Metacritic, Things Take Time, Take Time holds a score of 79/100, indicating generally favourable reviews. El Hunt from NME said "Partly as a consequence of being written and recorded during the pandemic Things Take Time, Take Time is sparer than Barnett's previous records, pairing jangly, lackadaisical indie-rock with scatterings of drum machine; programmed in collaboration with Warpaint's Stella Mozgawa. Though it lacks the more immediate bite of Barnett's previous work, its softness gives it a more tender focus."^[17]

"Write A List of Things To Look Forward To" was included on Barack Obama's list of his favorite songs of 2021.

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[23]

Musicians

• Courtney Barnett – vocals, guitars, strings, bass, piano, Omnichord, percussion, Wurlitzer; drums (track 10)
• Stella Mozgawa – drums, drum programming, percussion, bass, synths, vibraphone, Omnichord, sampler, tape delay; piano (track 10)
• Cate Le Bon – bass (track 7)
• Vagabon – vocals (track 10)
• Dave Mudie – vocals (track 6)
• Bones Sloane – vocals (track 6)
• Marek Mozgawa – handclaps (track 6)
• Chloe Dadd – handclaps (track 5)
• Simon Berckelman – tape delay (track 5)
• David Wrench – additional programming

Production

• Courtney Barnett – producer, artwork
• Stella Mozgawa – producer, assistant engineering
• Simon Berckelman – engineering
• Chloe Dadd – assistant engineering
• David Wrench – mixing
• Tim Pennells – assistant mixing
• Taylor Pollock – assistant mixing
• Grace Banks – assistant mixing
• Heba Kadry – mastering
• Danny Cohen – artwork photography
• Lily Paris West – artwork layout