’80s jangle pop is truly a marvelous thing. I don’t know what it is about it, but it seems to me many of the best lyrics in pop rock music come from jangle pop. 16 Lovers Lane‘s lyrical imagery is as aflutter as its brightly shining guitars, but can quickly change to a cold wind fighting against a flickering candle flame that defends the room from complete darkness.

“There’s a cat in my alleyway
Dreaming of birds that are blue
Sometimes girl, when I’m lonely
This is how I think about you”

That’s the opening verse to “Love Goes On!,” one of the two greatest songs on 16 Lovers Lane. And as for the other greatest song, “Streets of Your Town,” you have a song that sounds nostalgic on the surface but upon closer inspection reveals an undertone of heartbreaking loneliness as the narrator remarks “I still don’t know what I’m here for” when describing a town full of battered wives—and the rain is still on its way.

It’s bittersweet, and it makes me think of a character who’s returning to his hometown and reflecting on his life and whether or not he truly ever belonged there. But who else’s town is it? A childhood friend? A lover? Both? It reminds me of the town I grew up in—a lot of powerful memories and emotions, but the more I look back at them the more I realize most of them were more painful than good. The fact a three-minute song can fill me with so much means I can’t consider it anything short of a masterpiece.

Unfortunately, 16 Lovers Lane really doesn’t keep up the quality of the aforementioned tracks. But I’ve kind of gotten over that. It’s still consistently good, and you can’t expect any album to be full of songs on the level of “Love Goes On!” and “Streets of Your Town.” That just isn’t remotely reasonable. I will say that “You Can’t Say No Forever” and “Was There Anything I Could Do?” come pretty close, though.

16 Lovers Lane is The Go-Betweens’s best album. I actually think that’s the most disappointing thing about them. It’s not just their best album—it’s their best album by far. But for two essential songs I wouldn’t trade much of anything for, it’s worth everything.

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16 Lovers Lane Expanded Edition

Originally Published: June 28, 2017

The bonus tracks are better than almost all of their albums. That isn’t terribly surprising. Not only are the band at the peak of their songwriting, but they’ve also found an excellent sound to elevate their craft instead of dragging it down.

All the bells and whistles of 16 Lovers Lane can be observed in these extras as well. Amanda Brown is in full force, adding necessary flavor to must-haves like “Wait Until June.” Everyone into The Go-Betweens needs these bonus tracks. As an extra tip, the moment you get into an ’80s British band, their non-album material is always mandatory. Those acts were more interested in scattering and hiding their treasures, to our inconvenience.