The album was recorded at Soundpark studios in Melbourne with producer Burke Reid, who also worked on Barnett's previous solo album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. Barnett was joined on the album by her live rhythm section of Bones Sloane and Dave Mudie, as well as guitarist Dan Luscombe of The Drones. The album also features guest appearances from the Deal sisters, Kim and Kelley. The album was teased with a video shared across Barnett's social media outlets, in which Barnett tries out different instruments and sings snippets of new songs. The album's lead single, "Nameless, Faceless", was released on 16 February 2018. A music video for "Need a Little Time" directed by Danny Cohen was released on 15 March 2018. "City Looks Pretty" was released on 19 April 2018 along with an accompanying music video directed by Barnett. A video for "Sunday Roast" was released on 10 May 2018.
Music and lyrics
Tell Me How You Really Feel is characterised by casual guitar-driven rock songs generally arranged in verse-chorus structures. The guitar work ranges from noisy to subdued. Barnett's vocals are delivered in her distinctive laid-back "sing-speak" style with rich, rhyming lyrics. Among other themes, the album explores the challenges and frustrations of being a lyricist upon whom others have placed high expectations. Barnett's style on this album has been compared to grunge bandsNirvana and Hole and to indie rock musicians Pavement and Liz Phair.
Critical reception
Upon its release, Tell Me How You Really Feel received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 28 reviews. Laura Snapes of Pitchfork called the album "smaller, more introverted", and wrote that the lower energy yielded an "adventurous and nuanced" album that "tells stories of tenderness and frustration". Jeremy Winograd of Slant Magazine said that although "it may lack some of the instant affability of 2015's Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit", that decision was by design". Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot said that the songs felt "deceptively buoyant, effortless". NMEs Dannii Leivers wrote that the album's charm lies in the "dark and melancholy" way that Barnett is "exposing her vulnerabilities and fears". Nate Rogers of Flood Magazine wrote that "Barnett's LP is her most somber to date – an emotional drop in tuning, in a sense. It's still littered with her Petty-esque sense of hooks – "Charity" and "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence" in particular are earworms par excellence – but lyrically, it's a raw one." Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club considered the album's languid nature a detriment, saying that it "lacks the spry, buzzing energy of her debut", which causes it to be a "disappointing and muted record". Multiple critics agreed, however, that "Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence" was a standout song from the album, with Kot calling it a "little pop jewel" and Zaleski referring to it as a "spiraling pop standout".
