Performer Notes

The Go-Betweens: Robert Forster (melodica); Adele Pickvance (bass guitar); Grant McLennan, Glenn Thompson.
Personnel: Robert Forster (vocals, guitar, piano, organ); Grant McLennan (vocals, guitar); Glenn Thompson (guitar, keyboards, drums, background vocals); Duncan Lamont (clarinet); Tom Rees-Roberts (flugelhorn); Trevor Mires (trombone); David Powell (tuba); Dave Ruffy (keyboards, percussion); Adele Pickvance (keyboards, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Tom Rees-Roberts, Duncan Lamont, Trevor Mires, David Powell.
Audio Mixers: Mark Wallis; Dave Ruffy; Graham Pilgrim.
Recording information: 06/27/2004.
Photographer: Bleddyn Butcher.
OCEANS APART is the third studio album by Robert Forster and Grant McLennan since the two lauded Australian singer/songwriters reunited under the Go-Betweens banner in 2000. A vibrant pop-rock outing, this record stands in notable contrast to the stripped-down indie sound of THE FRIENDS OF RACHEL WORTH and the acoustic-oriented atmosphere of 2003's BRIGHT YELLOW, BRIGHT ORANGE. In fact, OCEANS APART carries echoes of 1988's 16 LOVERS LANE, which is no coincidence, since both albums share producer Mark Wallis.
Although Forster and McLennan are the essence of the Go-Betweens, the duo opts for more full-band interplay here with BRIGHT YELLOW's returning musicians--bassist Adele Pickvance and drummer Glenn Thompson. "Here Comes the City" sounds like a jangle-pop cousin of Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime" and features the literate lyrical musing "Why do people who read Dostoyevsky look like Dostoyevsky?" While the former is a typically playful Forster tune, the following track, "Finding You," is a chiming, melancholy song that exemplifies McLennan's aesthetic. This longstanding give and take defines the Go-Betweens, and it shapes this excellent record.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.76) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "[N]ewcomers will hear a seductively pretty indie-pop record, while their still-ballooning cult can marvel at the sound of their iridescent melodies turning autumn-gold."

Spin (p.105) - "[T]he music's sweet spot is somewhere in the space between Forster's slowly unfolding naturalist evocations and McLennan's airy pop romanticism." - Grade: B+

Entertainment Weekly (No. 817/818, pp.148-51) - "[R]adiant tunes....they remain one of rock's most pleasurable hand-me-down discoveries." - Grade: A-

Uncut (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 - "The band sounds re-energised by an idea of the city, the marketplace, pop ambition."

Magnet (p.95) - "[C]risp, guitar-driven pop songs. They ride two rails: remembrance and regret."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.60) - Ranked #15 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Gutsy, lyrical, dreamlike, heartbreaking..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.95) - 5 stars out of 5 - "Forster and McLennan once again occupy their unique yet complementary worlds, with Forster holding hard to an unraveling past as McLennan loses himself in the milky haze of fading days."