Oceans Apart

I have been a huge fan of the Go-Betweens' '80s stuff since, well, the late '80s. But I drifted away from Forster and McLennan during the '90s, not paying too much attention to their uneven solo careers, and when the first reunion album came along, I didn't even check it out, though I did go see them live.

But I recently picked up the second reunion album, since I'd heard so many raves about it. It was good, but still not up there with their very best. And so now this new album. I must admit, the hype (MOJO rated it a "MOJO Instant Classic") lured me in, and I made sure I got a copy the day it came out. Listened to it three times in a row, and boy am I hooked. Forster is in rare form, and while the jury is still sort of out on McLennan (where is that melodic genius that displayed in the '80s and lost in the '90s?), as a whole the album is up there with their best. I need to give it a bit more time so that the McLennan songs sink in better, but I'm thrilled to have a record this challenging and engaging at this point in their career.

And I haven't even gotten to the bonus live disc yet!

A great record, one of the Go-Betweens' best. Melodic, heartfelt, urgent, with fantastic harmonies and compelling hooks. The opening track, Here Comes a City, is like a marvelous Talking Heads song rediscovered, the grand Darlinghurst Nights a sweeping paean to a lost time, every song on the record unique and wonderful. It's hard not to want to listen to this superb recording over and over. First-rate.

No nostalgia here, just objectivity. Very hard with McLennan's recent passing.

I found the last 2 LPs from the reformed duo: welcomed, eagerly anticipated, OK, perhaps I expected too much from the creators of one of my 5 D.I.D. LPs of all time. They were nice, but not over the top from this duo who has given us so much beautiful music over the years. Actually I hesitated to purchase this until the flood of great reviews forced my little lifeboat over the precipice of Niagra.

I popped it in on the way home from work on one of those early June evenings when the sun is alternately breaking thru the potentially dam busting summer shower skies in the mid atlantic USA. First track OK, nice chug. Nice mix. haven't heard this since "Was There Anything..." Urgent. Then the LP just unfolds in this cacophony of sunshine and gorgeous melodies from then on until the end. I was so stunned I called up friends and held up the phone and yelled do you remember the groove from these guys?

Me don't do this at my age no more. This is the most stunning LP I have heard in the past 5 years. This surpasses all your expectations in it's beauty, production, and sheer magnitude of its songwriting. It's like the way we ultimately want our musical friends to return when they've been away. The lads have been saving up for this. The first 2 reformed LPs I won't discount, but this time it's like "16 Lovers Lane" where they went for the brass ring... and they got it.

I have loved Grant's songwriting and sighed over his lyrics for so many years - group and solo. But on this LP, I finally tapped completely into Robert - every one of his songs is perfect here. "Part of a Family" is hilarious and could be the song for the rest of my life and for all those kindred souls who have come from wonderful wombs, but God knows why, we just gotta stretch out a bit. "Lavender" - just put this on in the summer with the window down, driving, thinking about an untamed lover you were just so damn lucky to have known once in your life.

I can't cry here. Have already. Get this. It's damn perfect. Mature. Immature. Silly. Heartbreaking. Breathtakingly beautiful. Has one of Grant's greatest songs on it ("Boundary Rider"). Has Robert emerging into incredibly more than confident songwriter mode.

Brass ring.

Robert, gold ring? I'll be there, mate.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 24 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars