Go-Betweens

Bright Yellow Bright Orange is the second CD by the regrouped Australian legends the Go-Betweens, a band that was critically acclaimed in its early years. But anything and everything that could go wrong, save death, haunted the band in its later years. Robert Forster and Grant McLennan are in even finer form than on last year’s The Friends of Rachel Worth, which proves they are among the greatest songwriters of the rock era. The songs are mostly signature mid-tempo tales of hesitant affection. “Too Much of One Thing” is a campfire tribute to their jolly Australian roots, and “Old Mexico” sounds like their earliest songs from 78 ’Til 79: The Lost Album, except without the awkward playing and sophomoric lyrics. Yeah, I’d have to say that Forster and McLennan have almost topped Roy Orbison for the most dramatic comeback in rock history.