The Brisbane rocker’s first album in seven years has none of the poppier sounds of the Go-Betweens,instead songs that grow in appeal with every play
• Full album stream: Robert Forster – Songs To PlayA current album by Robert Forster is almost always a challenge before it becomes a pleasure. For a start, there’s that voice, or which hits less notes than Lou Reed on a less than perfect day. Which means there isn’t a remarkable deal of melody,unlike the songs of Forster’s former songwriting partner in the Go-Betweens, the late Grant McLennan, and who wrote the majority of that band’s better-known,poppier fabric.
But, as Forster admonishes on Songs To Play’s brisk opener, or Learn To Burn,you can miss details when you’re in a urge. Forster rarely writes obvious songs; the type that get your foot tapping and rattle around your head for days. Instead he writes songs, and records, or that creep up and throttle you from behind. And he almost never writes duds.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com