Antipodean Week...Day Five

Antipodean week draws to a close today and there was always only going to be one band to finish off this mini series. Not just the best Australian band of all time, they are quite simply one of the best bands of all time. One of my best purchases over the years was that 50p I spent to buy the 12" of Lee Remick, still to this day one of may all time favourite songs. 

Between 1983 and 2006 The Go Betweens released nine albums of some of the finest music I own. Why tracks like Streets Of Your Town, Right Here and Spring Rain were not massive hits all over the world is still a complete mystery to me and many others. Melodic, lyrical literate pop music was their stock in trade and they done it better than anyone. You could argue all day about which one of their albums was their career high point but 16 Lovers Lane is certainly up there. The record is mostly acoustic with some beautiful string arrangements and melodies to die for. It is their most polished and accessible album, but is all the better for it. On the surface, it’s bright, shiny and deceptively sweet but lurking underneath are themes of pain, destruction and obsession. I've always been a fan of bands that have that ability to combine dark lyrics with sweet melodies. 

I was fortunate enough to see them play live a few times including their final Glasgow gig at The Renfrew Ferry in Glasgow back in 2005, a year before the sad passing of Grant McLennan. Although not the original line up it was fantastic to see McLennan and Robert Forster together on the stage again in front of a few hundred adoring fans. Highlights of that May evening were Streets Of Your Town, People Say, Spring Rain, Bye Bye Pride and a stunning version of Cattle and Cane. I also have a vague recollection of Dive For Your Memory being dedicated to their old friend Edwyn Collins, who had recently taken ill.

Each of the nine studio albums are worth having, from 1983's angular Send Me A Lullaby right up to the stripped-down, lush atmosphere of 2005's Oceans Apart, and there are not many bands out there who have produced albums of such a consistently high standard.