Picked Up in 2018 (Part 1)

I'm embarrassed to admit until recently the only song you would have found on my shelf by the Apartments was "The Shyest Time." Robert Forster's references to the band and frontman Peter Milton Walsh in his book 'Grant & I' were what lit the fire and got me seeking the album 'The Evening Visits... And Stays For Years,' first released in 1985 by Rough Trade and lovingly reissued by Captured Tracks in 2015.

I use "lovingly" because the 26 pages of liner notes penned by Forster, Steven Schayer of the Chills and Walsh himself, along with photos, reviews and other gems would make this a must-have on its own. Throw in the demos Rough Trade heard before signing them, as well as the three-track EP "The Return of the Hypnotist" from 1979 and the "All You Wanted" single from 1984 and now you've got a must-have reissue even for those who already own the original.

Walsh assembled quite a band and recruited friends like Clare Kenny, Ben Watt and Graham Lee of the Triffids as well. This crew was described by the NME in '85 as "melancholy and lamenting, bitter, exhilarating and extremely witty" and 'The Evening Visits...' as "a pure heart-wrencher" that "should only be listened to after dark." What's in that Brisbane water? This album was arguably my favorite discovery last year.

Great Fool