Certain albums are not so much out of time as lost in it. They exist alongside recognised masterpieces and primarily in the minds of admirers. They are great but you would have to listen. The Triffids' In The Pines is one such album, sitting ever so slightly between Born Sandy Devotional and Calenture. The Soft Parade by the Doors is another. They exist, these albums, but barely.
Bright Yellow Bright Orange was the last Go-Betweens LP I ever heard.
You could not miss the big comeback Friends Of Rachel Worth with tunes as perfect as "He Lives My Life", "Magic In Here" and Forster's inimitable tribute to Patti Smith, "When She Sang About Angels". You could hardly miss the bittersweet (mostly bitter, of course) Oceans Apart which many consider their best. And initially, I walked past whatever happened in between.
One record slipped past me, although in some perverted way it was all worth it. The pleasure of stumbling upon a 'new' Go-Betweens album, years later, was akin to finding out that David McComb had a solo career.
The album, released is 2003, may not have the immediate power of what came next, or before, but play it to an unsuspecting listener and they would probably tell you that "Caroline & I" is as good an opener as they have ever heard, "Make Her Day" is a perfect pop song and "In Her Diary" may just be the most beautiful thing in the world. And then watch them laugh hysterically during the timeless "Too Much Of One Thing" which has Grant and Robert sharing verses. And then it all ends with a two-minute song called "Unfinished Business".
Bright Yellow Bright Orange is such a modest triumph. For no apparent reason, it even has two of those l's back.
