The sixth Go-Betweens record (and their last before a 12-year hiatus), 16 LOVERS LANE, is not only one of the band's finest albums, it's a remarkable collection of love songs. Focusing on the bittersweet side of romance, vocalist/guitarists Grant McLennan and Robert Forster write with a clear-eyed, unflinching intensity that draws listeners into their narratives of loss and redemption. Moving back to their native Australia, the group abandoned a short-lived experiment with programming and synthesizers begun on their previous album, and returned to a more organic sound that, accompanied by crisp production, gives this outing a bracing, undated immediacy. Everything here is a gem (including the supremely catchy near-hit "Streets of Your Town"), but perhaps shining most brightly are "Love Is a Sign" and "Dive for Your Memory". The first features Amanda Brown's violin intertwining with chiming guitars as Forster's lyrics depict the vapour trail of a collapsing long-distance relationship. The second, a tale of poignant longing, has harmonised vocals and a mournful oboe colouring the spare, largely acoustic arrangement. One of pop music's masterpieces, 16 LOVERS LANE is a record that people with even a passing interest in the form owe it to themselves to own.