Go-Betweens' Robert Forster Announces First Solo Album In Seven Years

Veteran Aussie musician and the co-founder of iconic indie outfit The Go-Betweens, Robert Forster, has announced his return to active duty with the release date of his eagerly awaited sixth studio full-length, Songs To Play, his first such release since 2008's The Evangelist.

According to a short trailer for the video, Forster originally envisioned a five-year space between records but, despite his best intentions, that stretch effortlessly, accidentally, became seven years — but the finish line is well and truly in sight, with Songs To Play destined for digital and physical stores on Friday, 18 September, via Tapete Records. 

Evidently, this is a record with a long and winding journey behind it, in every regard; as we find out in the video, Forster even juggled several names for the record before settling on Songs To Play, including Pilgrims With Sticks, Night Shift, Warm Nights II, Withered From The Journey and, somewhat wonderfully, Soft Flashbacks, a suggestion that apparently arose from looking at clouds in the sky.

Find out more about Forster's time away from the spotlight — and what he's been doing therein — by checking out the clip below.

If September's too far away for your tastes, don't despair - you can always get an extra serve of Forster's creative excellence with The Go-Betweens' utterly epic retrospective box set, G Stands For Go-Betweens - as The Music's Steve Bell put it, it's "a gargantuan and exhaustive collection", well worth the time of anyone with an interest in classic Aussie tunes.