Let's Go Naked - Sometimes

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 19 / 11 / 2005

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Review

This three track CD single from Brisbane’s Let’s Go Naked is something of a taster for the forthcoming retrospective releases the band has planned. I have to admit I have never heard of this band before and when I started to dig into their background found that they have been compared to the Go Betweens. An obvious comparison maybe as both bands hail from Australia but there is no denying that the early work of the Go Betweens can be heard on these songs. That angular guitar sound and on the final song here, ‘Julia’, even vocally, Let’s Go Naked show that influence proudly. An earlier single, ‘Three Limbs’ was apparently a favourite of John Peel. The Go Betweens, especially in their earlier work, had the more angular, edgy sounds provided by Robert Forster offset with the more melodic, gentle sounds of Grant McLennan. This was more evident obviously in the solo albums they released. McLennan, for the most part, had a more laid back feel to his songs. Forster took on the Lennon role pitching his edgier songs against McLennan’s McCartney-ish melodic side, even if with the Beatles it was not apparently always that way. In songwriter Murray Power who also handles electric and acoustic guitars as well as providing those beguiling vocals (think an Australian Morrissey) the band have a songwriter who can combine the writing of Forster and McLennan. This makes for an interesting overall sound as the 3 songs on offer display that edgier sound while also boasting strong melodies. It appears that the first song on this single, ‘Sometimes’, was recorded either in the late 80's or early 90's, although it sounds like it could have been put to tape just last week. It is quite simply a gorgeous slab of indie pop/rock with stunning guitar from Power backed by a powerful rhythm section of Andrew Lofthouse on bass and Nick Patterson on drums. With the current musical climate in the UK it would seem that the time for Let’s Go Naked to get the recognition they missed out on earlier has come at last. If the three songs on this single are anything to go by, the forthcoming career retrospective will be well worth checking out.

Track Listing:-

1 Sometimes
2 I've Been Waiting For So Long
3 Julia