The Go-Betweens
— The Knitting Factory, New York

Evelyn McDonnell — Billboard, November 1989

A full decade after they released their first single, Australia's Go-Betweens have finally found a home on a major U.S. label. Presumably, with the beautiful melodies and lush acoustics of 16 Lovers Lane, their Capitol debut, they will reach the larger audience they should have had all along. At this November 8 coming out party, however, these ruminative popniks seemed as awkwardly shy – and quietly magnificent – as ever.

Only three Go-Betweens made the cross-hemisphere journey for a few industry showcases. Singer/songwriter/guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan have composed the band's core all along, and this was especially their show; relative newcomer Amanda Brown provided aural accompaniments on violin, oboe, vocals, and guitar. The show's acoustic nature made it a laid back affair. By the end of the evening, though, the Go-Betweens had managed to stir the audience's passive-resistant empathies.

On record, McLennan's and Forster's vocals tend to merge into one expressive sigh. Live, their different styles become distinct. McLennan is the entertainer, bantering with the audience and hamming around as he plays lovely guitar leads. Forster is the romantic poet anxiously trying to express himself; during the evening's performance of The Clarke Sisters, off last year's Tallulah album, he reached out as if he could touch "their fantastic, gorgeous, beautiful grey hair" if he weren't in a club with a hundred people watching.

Both men write resplendently simple pop songs for thinking and feeling folks. Their heads may be in the clouds, but they aim for the heart. Even with the show's mellow tone and sometimes off-key harmonies, songs like Clouds and Apology Accepted still gently but forcedly resuscitated the audience's cardiopulmonary systems.