New Go-Betweens single and video - "Here Comes The City". Opinions?

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I just heard the new Go-Betweens single "Here Comes The City." At first it's underwhelming, but Forster's in fine form, and the song has a rhythmic propulsion missing from their other comeback recordings.

You'll notice how much Forster resembles Bryan Ferry these days:

http://www.lomaxrecords.com/multimedia.html

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 5 March 2005 23:41 (twenty years ago)

"And why do people who read Dostoevsky look like... Dostoevsky?"

Another really simple Forster song, but, yeah definitely more propulsive than probably all of BYBO innit. Forster looks a bit scary really. Is he heavily made up? And should he be expected to be wielding a guitar?

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Sunday, 6 March 2005 01:33 (twenty years ago)

His gawkiness is usually obvious without a guitar, but he seems comfortable on stage for once.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 6 March 2005 02:06 (twenty years ago)

This is the single?

It doth not portend well for the album then...

― Hector Savage, Sunday, 6 March 2005 11:12 (twenty years ago)

absolutely mesmerising. thanks for the link.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Sunday, 6 March 2005 12:51 (twenty years ago)

Forster is amazingly cool.

― Nic de Teardrop (Nicholas), Sunday, 6 March 2005 13:02 (twenty years ago)

That was not underwhelming whatsoever. Wholly enjoyable. They are in fine form.

― Nic de Teardrop (Nicholas), Sunday, 6 March 2005 13:09 (twenty years ago)

Utterly cool.

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Sunday, 6 March 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

Very nice!

― dlp9001, Sunday, 6 March 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

Forster is becoming a vampire. Strangely, just after watching this, my friend sent me a message saying she had just bought me a ticket to see them.

The song will probably grow on me. Still better than most of BYBO. That was rubbish.

Forster is one of the few musical people I would be genuinely in awe of if I met him. He walked past me once and I stopped breathing.

― Ally C (Ally C), Sunday, 6 March 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

i wasn't nuts about this song at first, but it's kinda growing on me. weird choice for a single, to be sure. the video's kind of hilarious, as are most go-betweens videos. check out the vids attached to the recent GBs reissues--there are some really ill-advised moments. i think Forster definitely walks the line between being the coolest person ever in the world and quite possibly the lamest. the contrast might make him all the cooler though...

― tylerw, Sunday, 6 March 2005 18:32 (twenty years ago)

bright yellow, bright orange wasn't rubbish at all. it was phantastic guitar pop in the wistful songwriter vein. better than 99.9% of all music released these days. caroline and i and too much of one thing were breathtakingly gorgeous. the whole album had a nice flow.

in any case this single is miles better than krafty from the new new order album. if the rest of the new go-betweens album is as good as the rest of the new order album i'd be very happy.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Sunday, 6 March 2005 19:00 (twenty years ago)

"better than 99.9% of all music released these days."

A rather sweeping (and conservative) statement, Alex. Do you get out much?

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 6 March 2005 22:14 (twenty years ago)

Do you get out much?
that's a rhetorical question, isn't it? of course i don't. any good reasons why i should? but hold on. i will go to the go-betweens concert in frankfurt, 31st may. current rock music seems to be a wasteland. it probably has to do with my age. i don't enjoy music by twenty year olds as much as when i was twenty years old myself. but i still enjoy music by people my age and older who haven't lost it yet. like e.g. yo la tengo, giant sand (not so sure anymore after the last album), neil young, pere ubu/david thomas, new order, lambchop, massive attack, go-betweens.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Sunday, 6 March 2005 22:54 (twenty years ago)

Here, here.

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 7 March 2005 20:07 (twenty years ago)

Let's hoping Mark Wallis gives the band the sonic pizzazz the last two albums lacked.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 7 March 2005 20:13 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

warning: there are a lot of keyboards on the record, but i find that they are (mostly) used tastefully. there's only 1 real clunker, i think.

― PeopleFunnyBoy (PeopleFunnyBoy), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 00:45 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

Two addenda:

1) The song title is Here Comes A City
2. The city in question is Frankurt/Main, Germany.

― alex in mainhattan, Sunday, 28 October 2007 13:22 (seventeen years ago)

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