Issue No. 2

A Conversation Across Oceans with the Go-Betweens
Trout

The Go-Betweens are the quintessential cult band. During the 80's, over the course of six albums, they developed a fervent international following rivaling the devotion shown to the Smiths or the Cure. After breaking up and pursuing solo work, Grant McLennan and Robert Forster reunited in 1999 and are about to release their third album since getting back together, Oceans Apart. I spoke with Robert Forster on a sunny Saturday morning recently, and we talked about the new record and the lack of 'double Ls' in the new title.

MP: Where was Oceans Apart recorded?

It was recorded in London and engineered and produced by Mark Wallis, who also produced 16 Lovers Lane.

MP: According to your press release, 'The Go-Betweens make a posh record every third time out; first Spring Hill Fair in '86, then 16 Lovers Lane in '89, and now this. What do you make of this? Is this a 'posh' record?

Definitely Spring Hill Fair was different from our previous situations as it was recorded in a very expensive studio in the south of France. I guess its attention to a certain kind of detail. I think the new record is sonically more suited for a radio station that I don't think exists.

MP: What was the writing process like this time out?

Pretty much the same as always I would say. Grant and I write the songs in our homes and then about six to eight months before we make the record we meet and just play the songs to one another. Then we meet about twice a week for about a month before we make the record. We are also writing during this time, new songs are always being written. Then we start demo-ing. Adele and Glenn come up a couple times to the studio and we put down a demo, and then Grant and I work. Four or five weeks later, Adele and Glenn come up again and see how we're coming along, and then we send the demos over to Mark.

MP: Why was Oceans Apart recorded in London?

Well, a little bit of it was planned and a little bit of it was a turn of luck. We were in London for our show at the Barbican [immortalized on a six track bonus disc with Oceans Apart including an absolutely wonderful version of 'People Say'-Trout], and we thought, 'Let's go into the studio for one day and see what we can come up with.' We booked a few people, and Mark happened to be there, so we said, 'Let's just go and get him, and record it with him.' He didn't seem burned out or half-dead so we said, 'Lets give it a go.' We wanted to be back in London and back in the middle of things. We wanted something a bit more artificial, in a good way. We wanted to take a sort of side-turn. Reinvent ourselves is too strong…but just sort of maintain a different direction.

MP: I watched the video for Here Comes a City online before calling you. First of all, nice suit, and second of all I really like it. It's a nice throwback to the old days of MTV when watching a video was about seeing a band perform its single.

That's a nice connection you've made, thank you. It's a great song and I'm glad we've made a good video. You know it's far easier to make a bad video than a bad record, and we're happy how it came out.

MP: Oceans Apart sounds like the same band taking a very different approach. Here Comes a City is a good example of the sidestep you mentioned. What was the inspiration for it?

Lyrically it's about a trip in Europe we used to make. My wife is German and we lived there for about eight years and we used to make this trip that was about four hours to Frankfurt so it sort of describes a German train trip with its cities at night. You know, you're going through the fields and then you hit a city and see the lights and the skyscrapers and then you're back in the blackness again. It's a nice feeling. It was something that broke through with the rhythm and the name. It was a real thrill to write that song. It was a real moment for me when we heard it, because we recorded it in one day. Then the next day we heard the mix and then hearing it for the first time in Mark's studio, I was just swimming. It was quite overwhelming. As you said, the ingredients were us, but it was us in a whole different way.

MP: I am particularly struck by "Born to a Family". I like its simple rollicking feel that harkens back to 16 Lovers Lane, and I think lyrically you have tapped into the universal idea of being the person in the family who deviates from the route.

Exactly. You've got it right. To deviate from the family, yes. It's quite a loving song too because it always comes back to being born to a family. There are all the decisions and you track off and follow what you want to follow, but at the same time its different now that I am older. In other words, it could have been a lot harder on the family. It's still reconciliation if you want. It's still born to a family. It's still accepting of that totally.

MP: What is the tour plans for Oceans Apart?

Extensive for us. We're going to Europe for about five weeks. Coming to the states and playing in New York, North Carolina, where our record company is, Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

MP: Now this is the third time out since you've reunited with Grant and what strikes me is the dignity that goes with how you resumed recording. You, maybe the press, have never really used the word comeback; there was never really any ad campaign, no mentioning the past in your interviews. It could just as easily been a month, not eleven years since 16 Lovers Lane. Was that your intention?

It was. It was really great to come back and do the first record in Portland, Oregon; it seemed to really fit the tone. When we first started on The Friends of Rachel Worth, we hadn't really thought of this angle but a lot of interviewers asked if we were going to keep recording together. I guess the assumption was that we were going to just do one record and then go back to solo work or disappear. I don't know how many records we are going to do but once the Go-Betweens start it seems we do a record and then think, 'Well we could go over there or do that.' It seems to always be leading us somewhere else. Until 16 Lovers Lane, when it was just over, but it grows and moves now. But Grant and I always knew once we got started again it would grow and move.

MP: How many people have asked you why there are no double L words in the title this time around?

(laughs)A few. Grant came up with this title. We always liked the double Ls but this title just 'had it' if you will. We always agreed that if we found something we really liked that didn't have the double Ls we'd use it. The title The Friends of Rachel Worth sort of told us that it wasn't holy to us.

MP: Must have confused some people when you had a solo record called Calling from a Country Phone.

(laughs) It did.

MP: Have you been thinking about your solo career now that the Go-Betweens are back?

Not really. At the moment it's not the right time. But at some point I'd like to. Occasionally we'll play songs from my records. But yeah it's something I look back fondly on and something I'd like to draw attention to at some stage.

MP: I imagine the live set this time around will be concentrating on Oceans Apart. But what else can we expect?

We start practicing in a couple of weeks. I enjoy playing older songs. I am at a stage of confidence with what we do that I would love to play some songs from our earlier albums. It could be a bit more broad than people may think.

MP: Your rhythm section has not been with you all along. Are they at a place where they can pick up and play anything from the back catalog?

Pretty much so. I've been playing with Glenn since 1992 on Calling from a Country Phone. They are quick learners. I am already emailing song suggestions to Glenn and Adele and they are emailing me feedback. Preparation is underway.

MP: May I request "The House Jack Kerouac Built"?

(laughs) Ok, alright, that's one they can play. It's a great song.

MP: Are you listening to other music when you are writing a new record?

Definitely. It gets more intense at times and you need to put things down when you are getting a song out of your head.

MP: What did you listen to while recording Oceans Apart?

The Franz Ferdinand record I quite like. A guy who is virtually unknown in the states called Adam Green out of the Moldy Peaches. He put out an album called Friends of Mine, which I really liked. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Adventures. I was listening to Bubblegum by Mark Lanegan today, I really like a song called 'Hit the City' with PJ Harvey on it. I knew him from the Screaming Trees and I really like the single "Nearly Lost You". I owned that single and used to play it quite a lot.

MP: You have a small but rabid following here in the states. But you generally get lumped in with other Australian bands or artists, Nick Cave in particular.

I actually think that's a good neck of the woods to be in. Your description is right; we have people in the states that love our music intensely. It's hard sometimes to disassemble and understand. It's complicated and very hard to make an impact in the states.

MP: But a pack of rabid fans tends to insure one a place in history.

Well, that would be good.

MP: Do you still listen to Country music?

Occasionally. That's a very good question. I just pulled out a record I used to quite like back in the early 90's by Iris DeMent. I always tend to have half an ear open. I'll listen to the latest Rodney Crowell album but there's nothing that really hooked me back into it. What can you recommend?

MP: I really like Neko Case, I can recommend the Drive-By Truckers on New West records who are really good, and also Chuck Prophet of Green on Red has a really nice new solo record. There's a singer named Dao Strom in Austin who is absolutely my favorite country singer right now.

Ah…ok, got it.

Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, known to the world as the Go-Betweens, head out on tour this May. Check out
www.Go-Betweens.net for specific tour dates. Oceans Apart is slated for U.S. release on April 25, 2005.