[.ca] Bright Yellow Bright Orange

From Amazon.com:
Following 12 years of solo work, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan surprised faithful fans in 2000 with the much-lauded Friends of Rachel Worth, and the duo have come out swinging again. Forster may have hit his peak here. His wry, tightly crafted stories of human behavior form the core of the set's strongest songs, highlighted by the brisk and jangly "Too Much of One Thing," the buoyant "Make Her Day," and the organ-adorned "Something for Myself." McLennan, on the other hand, delivers the goods in his usual straight-ahead, verse-chorus-verse fashion, providing an emotional refrain to sink our teeth into on "Poison in the Walls," and a wistful one on the elegiac "Unfinished Business." He seems to be moving in an even more accessible direction, while Forster's work is wrapped in layers that are sheer joy to peel away. Bright Yellow, Bright Orange is further proof that the second half of the Go-Betweens' career is one well worth following. --Lorry Fleming

as good as 16 Lover's Lane and Liberty Belle:
More light and flowing than Liberty Belle... so it is closer to 16 Lover's Lane - Amazon reviewer's favorite. Much better in my opinion than The Friend's of Rachel Worth.

Junkmedia Magazine Review:
Like a love affair from the past, time has granted closure to the period encapsulated by the Go-Betweens' first six albums. From 1981's bleak and angular Send me a Lullaby to 1988's mature and elegiac 16 Lovers Lane, it seems that as a collective they managed to say so much, and maybe enough. It was a period marked with the passion of an impoverished band that moved 4000 miles from their Australian homeland to London -- and by the electrifying (and perhaps burdensome) genius of two young writers of considerable depth, Grant McLennan and Robert Forster. There were also, of course, the cliché drug problems, gratuitous label swindling, and incestuous romances that the world has come to associate with rock n' roll. Like a love affair conscious of its own inevitable death, it was a wonderful thing. Bright Yellow Bright Orange, the second album since the Go-Betweens' reformation in 2000 (the first being 2000's Friends of Rachel Worth), can't escape being thought of as the icing on the cake of a relationship already consummated. Like a couple that have already gone through the fires of marriage and divorce only to come together again, the strangest torments have already passed. While Rachel Worth managed to conjure some of the old Go-Betweens spirit (a feat and expectation that mustn't have been easy), details such as indie rock touches from Sam Coomes (Quasi) on keyboards and heavy-handed production from Portland's Larry Crane put them in a pose they obviously weren't accustomed to. The album also suffered from the loss of their secret weapon (and definer of their early classic sound), drummer Lindy Morrison, who was replaced by a pretty-good-but-not-perfect-choice, Sleater-Kinney's Janet Weiss. For an album dominated with some of the most uptempo pop ever written for a Go-Betweens' record, Rachel Worth's sleeper gem, and the gateway into Bright Yellow Bright Orange, was "He Lives My Life," a Forster ballad of unrequited love. This song, despite its somber tone, was the only one on the album that made you feel like you were listening to the 'real thing' again. Bright Yellow Bright Orange is a much better album than Friends of Rachel Worth primarily because it largely abandons the formers' modern rock ambitions for a reflective and more natural folk-rock sound. Veterans of Forsters' solo work (and fellow Aussies), Adele Pickvance (bass) and Glenn Thompson (drums -- still no Lindy Morrison!) just seem to 'get' the Go-Betweens much more than the Portland crew. The rambling confessional "Too Much of One Thing" faithfully resurrects "Lily, Rosemary, And The Jack Of Hearts" from one of Forster's favorite albums, Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. McLennan's melancholy piano ballad, "Unfinished Business", revisits the desolation of "Dusty in Here" from the first Go-Betweens album. Both exude a natural breath and light lost in Rachel Worth's slickness. And while the upbeat tracks from Rachel Worth are delightful, they seem cloying in comparison to those on Bright Yellow. This is because Rachel Worth showed the Go-Betweens toying with a 'sound', whereas Bright Yellow is simply their own thing. Written for the Princess of Monaco, Forster's marvelous, Television-haunted "Caroline and I" harkens back to the nostalgia of an earlier Go-Betweens' classic, "Spring Rain." The equally impressive "Mrs. Morgan," a song about a town that is angry with its local fortune teller, shows McLennan reflecting on the consequences of being a seer. Enchanting male/female back-up vocals recall the sound of some of his most classic Go-Betweens' offerings "Bachelor Kisses" and "Streets of your Town." Like Friends of Rachel Worth before it though, Bright Yellow, Bright Orange is bogged with about 30% filler. The Go-Betweens have never been consistent, and 20 years going, they still can't 'really play' their guitars (thankfully). So can anyone explain why this release is better than the recent efforts of some of today's best bands? Jonathan Donaldson Junkmedia Magazine Review

Four and 1/2 Stars!:
The general opinion of "Rachael Worth" *seemed* to be "well it's good, but not quite up to par..." so I never picked it up (sorry guys). But I can say without reservation that this is one of the best Go Betweens albums I've heard yet. What makes it such a great album? Well, great songs of course! I think everything here is a winner, and there's a nice balance between soft introspection and feel-good pop tunes. "Poison In the Walls" & "Old Mexico" have rapidly worked their way into my list of favorites. If you're a bit uncertain if you'll be let down by the "new Go Betweens" sound, this one should seriously win you over. So pick up a copy and support these extraordinary yet overlooked songwriters who show they've still got the touch that won them such a devoted cult following.

Brightness in a dark world:
If you're new to these two extraordinary gentlemen I would suggest you at least start with Bellavista Terrace. If you're a long time fan you probably already have it but if you liked them way back when and are wondering if it's worth it, I would definitely say yes. This is more acoustically-oriented than their last one,probably closer in sound to 16 Lover's Lane. I'm not saying that it's an equal to that amazing record but the great melodies and thoughtful,intelligent lyrics are still there and this is some of Robert's best stuff ever. A couple of Grant's songs sound similar and take a few more listens to appreciate. Still,one of the best albums of 2003. Check out the video of Caroline on the Circus records website,it's a real treat.

Between the Go and the Gone:
It is almost impossible to truly describe the Go-Betweens and this cd in their pantheon. This is a band that refused to conform their music to some standard set by the industry or other bands, and now some of their fans are upset because this new cd does not conform to some supposed Go-Betweens standard. Well, if the Go-Betweens had been willing to conform in the first place, the gobees would not be the band we now expect them to be. This is the dilemma of being a fan of a band like the Go-Betweens. You either follow them down the path where they lead or you get left behind. If conformity mattered to them, they would not have been capable of being who they are. Taste the music. You will not be disappointed. You will become addicted. As the Moody Blues said - there is a distinction between the fan and the artist. The fans have to agree that the band is the artist. We try to get what we can from the artists, but they cannot give in to our demands, or they would lose their artistic integrity. Is Bright Yellow Bright Orange a great cd. Yes. Is it Liberty Belle or 16 Lovers Lane or something in-between? Well, it is Bright Yellow Bright Orange. What they have to tell us now is not what they had to tell us then. How could it be any other way?

• Caroline and I
• Poison in the Walls
• Mrs. Morgan
• In Her Diary
• Too Much of One Thing
• Crooked Lines
• Old Mexico
• Make Her Day
• Something for Myself
• Unfinished Business