Trained in classical music, Barter began writing and independently releasing pop rock in her mid-twenties.

An opinion column Barter wrote in 2016 for Junkee, on the need for representation of women in music history, attracted local and international attention.

[2][3] She was a 2013 Triple J Unearthed winner, earning a spot on the line-up at St Jerome's Laneway Festival in that year.

[7] Barter appeared in ABC1's TV mini-series The Beautiful Lie (2015), a modern adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

[8] In April 2016 Barter performed on triple j's weekly Like a Version segment, where she covered Tame Impala's track "'Cause I'm a Man".

[11] In 2016, Barter also toured in support of the Rubens, City Calm Down and the Jezabels and held her single launches in Sydney and Brisbane.

In mid-2016 inspired by her experiences while studying 20th century music history at a university in Melbourne, she posted on her Facebook page "about how under-represented women were in the course material.

"[12] In December of that year Barter penned an op-ed, "It's About Fucking Time We Gave Female Musicians the Credit They Deserve" for Australian media website Junkee.

[14] Barter released her debut album, A Suitable Girl, in March 2017, independently on Ronnie Records via Inertia Music.

[15] In February of the following year she performed at the Melbourne Zoo, for its Twilights Season, which Giselle Bueti of The AU Review praised: "There is something compelling about her stage presence, a certain awkward charm.

It's like biting into a sour lolly – that initial punch is quickly followed by sugary bliss, making your mouth water and plead for more.

The couple run a small independent label, Ronnie Records, which issued Barter's material, as well as work by fellow musicians Ben Wright Smith and Miles de Carteret.