Pitchfork

When Go-Betweens co-leader Grant McLennan unexpectedly passed away last May, the music world mourned the loss of a dear family member, a friend, and a brilliant, intuitive songwriter. For anyone who had been touched by Grant's music over the last 30 years, it was like losing someone very close.

While never quite a commercial smash, Australia's Go-Betweens nonetheless etched an enduring legacy, charming critics and fans alike with warm, thoughtful pop songwriting. Seeking to pay tribute to Grant and his extraordinary music, Go-Betweens superfans David James Buckner and wife Sherri decided to compile a fitting tribute album.

Love Goes On collects exclusive covers of Go-Betweens favorites and Grant McLennan solo tunes from artists who count Grant and his oeuvre as a profound influence. It should hit shops in early September via David and Sherri's own Rare Victory label and will feature liner notes penned by The Big Takeover's Jack Rabid.

Confirmed contributors include the Clientele, Portastatic, Brookville (aka Ivy's Andy Chase), kiwi rock stalwarts the Bats, Sarah Records graduates the Orchids, Bobby Wratten's post-Field Mice project Trembling Blue Stars, Belle & Sebastian collaborator Future Pilot AKA, and ex-Auteurs/Black Box Recorder gent Luke Haines. Other likely participants include Ivy (re-working their cover of "Streets of Your Town", originally from the Guestroom LP) and Church frontman and McLennan's Jack Frost partner Steve Kilbey (tackling "The Wrong Road").

Hear comp selections from Portastatic, the Orchids, and more at the label's MySpace.

As David told Pitchfork via e-mail, "We have been incredibly pleased and heartened to see the enthusiasm with which this project has been embraced by artists of various cultures and epochs."

But wait-- there's room for one more! Due to a last-minute cancellation, Rare Victory is seeking one final contributor for Love Goes On, to cover title track "Love Goes On!" (originally released on the Go-Betweens' 1988 LP 16 Lovers Lane). Interested parties should shoot an mp3 of their entry to rarevictory@gmail.com no later than March 29, 2007. The label will choose a winner on the basis of "originality, melodicism, and sound quality."

Bear in mind that all entrants, while retaining ownership of their songs, agree to keep them exclusive to Love Goes On for at least 12 months from the release date. Fair enough, why not give it a whirl?

For David, the Love Goes On project is a very personal one. "[Grant's] music had been an integral part of the soundtrack of my youth, and I'd been fortunate enough to meet Grant and Robert, as well as the other members of the band," he told Pitchfork. "They were all very special to me, both as artists and as human beings.

"Grant's death," he continued, "hit me quite hard; it also came on the heels of another personal loss-- the death of my father. In considering how these men touched my life, it occurred to me that others must be feeling the same and would want to celebrate the beauty bequeathed to us by those who leave us."

Love Goes On confirmed contributors:

The Bats - "Right Here"
Brookville - "Haunted House"
The Clientele - "Orpheus Beach"
Future Pilot AKA - "Dusty in Here"
Glenn Bennie/GB3 [ft. Angie Hart] - "Devil's Eye"
Luke Haines (of The Auteurs/Black Box Recorder) - "You Won't Find It Again"
Paul Handyside (of Hurrah!) - "Bachelor Kisses"
Kelman - "Apology Accepted"
Mellow Drunk - "Boundary Rider"
The Orchids - "Magic in Here"
Portastatic - "Bye Bye Pride"
Trembling Blue Stars - "Coming Up for Air"
Phil Wilson (of the June Brides) - "Black Mule"