Grandstands - Stranger

There's a countrified current in the Melbourne underground - Ciggie Witch, Lower Plenty, Velcro - which Grandstands add to with their own desolation and wide open spaces.

There are two singles (you know what I mean) from this tape, ‘Getting Out’ and ‘Stranger (In A Sense), but there are many more potential hits.

Meditative - all sprung rhythms and sinewy folk-rock - sounds like a session track from Before Hollywood. Then there's Two and Five. Here, judge for yourself:

After listening to this album, I reached for Paul Kelly's cover of The Triffids' Raining Pleasure. Well, that's not quite true. I played Stranger again a few more times first.