With eight other celebrated albums under their belt, it's hard to imagine that the Go-Betweens ninth and most recent release, Oceans Apart, would sound as fresh as their debut did nearly 25 years ago. The original lineup spent most of their career in the 80s as critics' darlings and established a small, but unyielding cult following. Their near-decade long run culminated with their pop masterpiece 16 Lovers Lane. And after the sixth album, they rested. Following a 12-year hiatus, the new millennium found driving forces Robert Forster and Grant McLennan reestablishing themselves as pop supermen.

If Powderfinger is Australia's greatest rock group, surely the pop-veterans the Go-Betweens are its best pop group. Songs like "Here Comes a City" and "Born to a Family" help to define their pop sensibilities with captivating hooks and sharp wordplay. Weaving their superb melodies with fine structured song craftsmanship has always been Forster and McLennan's strength. However, it's hasty lyrics like "I blow the dust from your lips and beg forgiveness/But there's too much moonlight on your skin/I rise and face the day/Another weary sinner/I can't feel your touch in the blaze of noon" on "The Statue" that diminish the effectiveness of the song, and essentially the album as a whole.

This doesn't mean Oceans Apart is a bad effort though. In fact, it's probably the best pop record I've heard year-to-date. Admirers of the Pernice Brothers, the Clientele, and Belle & Sebastian will find solace here, and fans of the group's earlier work can chalk this one up as one of the groups finest.