From The Daily Telegraph, Surry Hills, N.S.W.: Apr 28, 2005. pg. T.16
Listen up: album of the week;
The Daily Telegraph. Surry Hills, N.S.W.: Apr 28, 2005. pg. T.16
****
For many, the Go-Betweens occupy that special place in one's heart which is devoted to the nostalgia of their early '80s boho days. And when Robert Forster and Grant McLennan reformed the Go- Betweens in 2000 with The Friends of Rachel Worth it seemed they were doing it largely for these fans.
It was good, but it was doubtful they'd win over many new fans.
On 2003's Bright Yellow Bright Orange the Go-Betweens shone a torch towards a future of possibilities.
Now with Oceans Apart, Forster and McLennan finally seem to have loosened their grip on the hits of the past, relaxed and written a handful of indie-pop gems older devotees and newcomers can enjoy.
It's the sort of album REM really should have released.
From the outset, Forster's jerky Here Come A City bristles with urgency, as he rides a train bound for somewhere new.
This floats into the shimmering acoustic beauty of McLennan's Finding You, where he admits he may not know where he's going, but he knows what he's looking for.
The best part of the Forster/McLennan writing team is they seem to be challenging one another with every song.
The high point is the evocative country pop of Boundary Rider, which recalls McLennan's farm years. Although it seems more a metaphoric reference to survival than a literal reflection on a life bucolic.
Not to be outdone, Forster responds with his best track on the album, the bittersweet Darlinghurst Nights, where he snaps shut a notebook called Darlinghurst Years, "but out jumped some tears".
The sun is far from setting on the Go-Betweens, wherever the future may take them.
STEPHEN DOWNIE