Record: Spring Hill Fair
Label: Sire
Year of Release: 1984
Sounds like: Pop,Rock, Jangle, New Wave
Australia
The Gobetweens are an Australian rock pop band from Brisbane, whose influence and talent has been cited by many bands and fellows (Nick Cave, belle and Sebastian,Sleater Kinney) throughout the years. However ,this band has stayed always in a sort of shade below the tree of popular music.
The line up changed in different ways all along the 80's, but the main partners and main motors were Grant Mclennan (RIP) and Robert Foster.
The Go Betweens' music is pop in the vastest meaning of that word. They produced crafted and arranged pieces and songs like only Australians and Swedish are capable to compose. Spring Hill Fair is their third record and often perceived as a minor word in their discography.
Does it work?
Regina : Well, what we have here is one of the most underrated albums ever. Most of reviews that I have read, keep saying that Before Hollywood, 16 Lovers Lane and even the compilations like The great 78 'til 79 the Lost Album, are superior to this work. I disagree totally. While I do think that Before Hollywood is the best album by these guys, I also think that their entire discography deserves much more attention. This album as the biggest example
This record encapsulates all what the Go Betweens are: these explosive bass lines, the loosen and sometimes spoken vocals, the charming and exciting guitars that rarely got into riffs, performing a playful atmosphere instead.
The album opens with my all time favorite song by them, ''Bachelor Kisses.'', Oh, Gosh,what a song. A powerful yet New Waveish ballad that exudes anti-popular music everywhere, it was part of these bunch of songs that didn't need layers and layers of synths to immediately evoke the 80's in us. Spring Hill Fair is in my opinion the best summary of the Go Betweens available out there. In here you will find all the places, flavors, rythms and formulas exploited by Stuart Murdoch, The Shins,Camera Obscura and so on , for years. Forget about The Smiths, the Go Betweens did start all the C86 thing they were the seminal band for a ton of clones that came after. This record will let you know all the hows and whys of those formulas, and also you will know how pop music will never be a wrong choice when it comes to picking a record and just letting it spin for 40 minutes with no complain
Rate: Beautiful
Hugo Menanth Says:I have always said the same: I prefer a short but concise record rather than a long record with filler. That's why I rarely like double albums. This piece by The Go Betweens is a perfect example. The 10 themes are just there, like a bright box of jewelry that you open every once in a while just to feel better by its appearance, like a jar of perfume that you sniff here and there as part of a therapy. Is this a round record? Yes it is, no theme feels detached forced or unneeded. The 10 tracks happen in an open screen, they are precise, straight, pure juicy pop that never falls or lost the plot, like it is mentioned at the beginning of this review, the go betweens are like someone below the shade of a tree, reading a book, stealing ideas, holding a guitar and writing notes for some bunch of songs that will explode eventually, though pompous, this descriptions seems like the most accurate to me. A perfect reason to pay tribute to the deceased and unfairly neglected Grant Mclennan, one of the brightest Aussies genius ever.
Rate: Highly Recommendable