Small band, big LP
THE GO-BETWEENS “Before Hollywood” (Sturm 508). The Go-Betweens are a superb band, yet few people seem to know about them, and even fewer want to buy the album, it seems. “Before Hollywood” has been on release for a couple of weeks, but it is a wallflower in the racks. If you want a starting point before searching them out, try Young Marble Giants, but with their heart cut open. The Go-Betweens are also quiet, but sometimes deceptively angry. The playing is short and sharp, and the effect very satisfying. They are a well-travelled trio, although, like the Birthday Party, it took a trip to Britain to get them full attention in their homeland, Australia. A single on the then-hip Postcard label in Scotland was their vinyl debut, and they have commuted between Brisbane and Britain since. “Cattle and Cane,” a stunning song, has recently put them in the limelight at home and abroad. It has been released on 45 in New Zealand, but it sunk about a' month ago — for shame! Never mind, it’s on the album, and it typifies the Go-Betweens’ style. A rhythmic acoustic guitar line kicks it off, over a bass drum and Grant McLennan’s wiry vocals. McLennan (bass), Robert Forster (guitars), and Lindy Morrison (drums) use their own instruments sparingly, yet somehow achieve a big impact. The over-all sound is very carefully produced, and the final impression is that they lack nothing. Certainly not good tunes, or lyrics. Their cup would appear to be permanently overflowing on that score — this is their second album, and still not a filler to be heard. “Cattle and Cane” is the highlight, but I also relished “Ask” and “Two Steps Step Out.” On the latter two, the band gets angrier, and such is the restraint elsewhere, the album really lifts when the guitars and drums clash at volume. As the Go-Betweens are by no means “huge,” it would appear possible that they could tour New Zealand. Prepare yourself for even the remotest of chances of having a listen to “Before Hollywood.” The Go-Betweens are just another of those small bands making a bit impression, but on too few ears.
— DAVID SWIFT
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Press, 30 June 1983, Page 14
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365Small band, big LP Press, 30 June 1983, Page 14
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