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| (with the Faces of, L-R: Forster, Morrison, McLennan) |
release date: Nov. 1981 / (Feb. 1982)
format: digital (2 disc remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: The Go-Betweens and Tony Cohen
label: EMI Music - nationality: Australia
Track highlights: 2. "One Thing Can Hold Us" - 3. "People Know" - 5. "Midnight to Neon" - 10. "Hold Your Horses"
Studio album debut by Australian band The Go-Betweens originally released Nov. 1981 as an 8-track mini-album on the Australian label Missing Link Records, and then in Feb. '82 it was released in the UK on Rough Trade Records as a 12-track album with a slightly different track listing, although keeping all of the eight original tracks.
The band was founded in 1977 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia by the two friends Grant (William) McLennan and Robert (Derwent Garth) Forster, who met at university. Forster persuaded McLennan to take up learning the bass, and soon after he also played the guitar. They both sing, play guitar and bass, and from early on they shared roles in providing new songs to play. After a period involving various drummers, and after having toured the UK in attempts to find a record company that would release their music they returned to Australia. (Belinda) "Lindy" Morrison joined the two in 1980 as staple drummer. at a time when Morrison and Forster already were a couple. The band recorded its debut album in the Summer of '81, which saw its national release on Missing Link, and as the UK distributor was Rough Trade Records they released the album three months later with the addition of four compositions for the British market. Alongside The Birthday Party, The Go-Betweens experienced interest from the UK - and the band also saw the market in Britain as broader and more attractive, which explains their decision to return to Britain - only this time as a trio and with some reputation.
Stylistically, the album may sound more abrupt and as demo-like takes when comparing to later albums, and the band boldly reveals its influence from Velvet Underground, Tom Verlaine, Bob Dylan and the like, and then producer Tony Cohen also worked with The Birthday Party, as he would later continue as engineer and producer for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - there's a link to the immediacy, the garage sound and a certain abruptness you'll also find on early albums by these artists.
The album may not contain natural hit songs, nor strong memorable compositions but it's also clear that despite the strong influences it's by no means music by musical amateurs nor less original material.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars ]
