Seriously, though. I've been quite musically plugged-in to college radio and post-punk/indie-pop music over the decades. I suppose I had heard Cattle and Cane at some point, as the catchy droning melody is imprinted somewhere in the back of my mind. And yet somehow the band as a whole has escaped me until now. I've been reading Tim Blanchard's Like Magic in the Streets, and it's delightful journey of five bands making one of their seminal albums during a time when something new was flourishing in the indie music scene. I knew Orange Juice and The Smiths fairly well. I had some exposure to Aztec Camera and The Blue Nile, too. But the Australian band The Go-Betweens slipped through the cracks for me. I'm not fully to blame here, as their exposure in the states was very limited. It seems they couldn't even muster a hit single in their ancestral land ("Streets of Your Town" only made it to 68 on the Aussie charts). So now as I explore their catalog, my ears are giddy with joy. Beautifully crafted songs of simplicity and innocence, never falling into maudlin familiarity, cover much of their early work. Their albums Before Hollywood, Spring Hill Fair, Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, Tallulah, and 16 Lovers Lane are full of romantic and spirited gems!
Here I share a few of their tracks that particularly draw me in...
