Strawberries is the latest solo album from Go-Betweens legend Robert Forster, that was recorded in Stockholm at INGRID studios with Producer Peter Moren along with Jonas Thorell, Magnus Olsson, Lina Langendorf and Ana Ahman.
The album opens with Tell It Back To Me full of reflections for things you felt you had to do, and the results, this sounds like a classic Robert Forster song, chiming jangling guitars, restrained percussions and lyrics that draw you into how love between artists really develops.
Good To Cry has a very jaunty sound, set in the back streets around Russell Square, admitting that the need for a good cry has overcome you, despite how upbeat this feels musically the reality of how life throws curveballs at you, to bring you down.
Breakfast On A Train opens as a sparse acoustic guitar led song, for a couple who meet in a bar full of rugger buggers, managing to ignore the bonhomie surrounding them, somehow they find a fleeting love and lust, the need for a night together in an expensive hotel, despite arriving after dawn, they have loud noisy sex, before normal life resumes and they run off to catch that train they have breakfast together.
The albums title song Strawberries has an easy-going folksy sound, for the horror of finding someone has eaten all the strawberries, a cool down tempo duet that hopes for a tender kiss and togetherness.
All Of The Time has a distinct brass led riff leading into this song of love and lust among the CCTV cameras and constant surveillance of modern cities, Robert can't help himself, he declares he loves you All Of The Time, especially while he bends the guitar strings, his vocals dovetailing with the backing vocals.
Such A Shame opens with sleigh bells shaking, sad regrets for being on tour so long, his family have practically forgotten who he is, will going back to his parents' home help him to find his identity once more, angelic backing vocals adding to the sad regrets.
Ignoring his managers advice to pursue his own path, rather than filling arenas, he is happy in those small to medium sized venues, the guitar solo towards the conclusion is rather magical.
Foolish I Know he just wants some contact, he sees a bloke he fancies and would like to have a brief encounter with, but of course the bloke is straight, much like Robert himself, but he is still tempted, anything to get that human connection. This looks at what would have happened if he had been gay. The acoustic guitar draws you into the drama within, because he's straight just let it go.
The album closes with Diamonds that isn't a cover of the legendary Dirty Strangers song, although it does also feature someone whose woman has put Diamonds in his eyes, will he be able to wipe away those tears, before the raging brass and astonishing falsetto parts, the loud quiet dichotomy opens up a well of pain and distress he can't totally comprehend.
Find out more https://shop.tapeterecords.com/robert-forster-strawberries-4315 https://www.facebook.com/robertforsterofficial https://www.robertforster.net/ https://robertforster.bandcamp.com/album/strawberries
