The Go-Betweens - OceansApart

Fri 3rd Jun, 2005 in Music Reviews

The Go-Betweens are one of many bands from the ‘80’s to try their luck by reforming in the 21st century. Underground groups like the Pixies and New Order are now seeing the moderate success that was denied of them twenty years ago, and now Brisbane’s own folk-rock heroes are trying their luck, albeit, without founding drummer Lindy Morrison.

The band have developed a winning formula that merges the pop sensibilities of the Byrds with the art-rock of Jonathan Richman, and its gives the band a sound like R.E.M after ten cups of coffee, or alternatively, after taking some Valium. It seems to be a shame that the band broke up 1989, only a short period of time before this sort of music started to break through to the mainstream, allowing bands like Crowded House and R.E.M to enjoy massive success on the charts.

The first track, Here Comes a City is a hyperactive jangle-pop number, complete with witty observations such as “Why do people who read Dostoevsky/always look like Dostoevsky”. It sharply contrasts with the subdued love ballad Finding You, which is one of the best examples of the fine orchestration on the album, blending delicate back-up vocals with intricate 12-string guitar parts.

The songs on Oceans Apart are, more than anything else, about places, and the mood set by the music gives them a distinct feel. The dual songwriters, Forster and McLennan both describe locations that affected them, and the lyrics reveal the emotions with which they are associated, McLennan sentimentally recounting his childhood farm on Boundary Rider, Forster sorrowfully tells of parts of his youth in Darlinghurst Nights.

For the most part, the songs are reflective and honest love songs. They seem to benefit from the matured views of romance the Forster and McLennan have developed. It is a refreshing change from the earnest and naïve lyrics of most contemporary love songs. However, too often are the songs brought down by unimaginative ways of rhyming

“She’s got Tasmania in the back of her head
A future move in her head”
 
“When I was five years old
Asked when I’d be old”

This detracts considerably from the sophistication of the rest of the album.

The album’s strength lies in its lack of ambition. This may seem like an unusual statement, but the Go-Betweens have spent years refining an intelligent and unique pop sound. The vocals are very limited, and the songs do not stray far from the template of subtle and well-arranged love songs. In most other circumstances, this would be a weakness, but on Worlds Apart, it works superbly.