Australia's Go-Betweens have been quietly recording wonderful albums of engaging pop for almost ten years. Previous records featured cleverly structured tunes with even cleverer lyrics, but this time they've streamlined both and come up with what amounts to a modest concept album about problematic love.

Singer-songwriters Robert Forster and Grant McLennan sing tales of romance and alienated heartbreak with a bookish flair. There's a warm, folkie feel to the record – acoustic guitar kicks off and carries most of the tunes, and other acoustic instruments, especially Amanda Brown's violin and oboe, provide an effective foil for Forster and McLennan's sometimes studied romanticism. 16 Lovers Lane manages to sound austere and lush at the same time, revealing a brittle beauty similar to that of the Church's Starfish.

Although the Go-Betweens convey a depth of emotion and a height of intellect rarely found in pop, there's a strangely pleasant flirtation with banality in the album's honeyed melodies, soft strings and wistful, understated vocals. It's as if they were conceding that love can turn even eggheads into mush-heads. (RS 545)

MICHAEL AZERRAD