The towering Australian songwriters Robert Forster and Grant McLennan founded the Go-Betweens in 1978, embarking on a brilliant creative partnership that both defined and transcended the band. Following the Go-Betweens' split at the end of the '80s, the two sporadically toured together and co-wrote a screenplay-a comedy about a pineapple farmer and The Great Gatsby (still unproduced). The musicians officially regrouped as the Go-Betweens in 2000 and, unprecedented for a rock reunion, went on to record some of the band's finest work, including 2005's magnificent Oceans Apart. And then, they were no more: The next year, McLennan died of a heart attack, as good a sign as any that God, ever the pop Philistine, is no Go-Betweens fan.

The Evangelist is Forster's first record since his bandmate's passing. It is a solo album in name only: Latter-day Go-Betweens Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson accompany him; perhaps more notable is the presence of McLennan, who wafts through the album like a melodically inclined ghost. The late musician wrote portions of three songs, including two of the album's peppiest choruses-his specialty, compared with the more lyrically centered Forster-as well as its best number, "Demon Days," a forlorn ballad that the pair penned just before McLennan's death. Elsewhere, most directly in "From Ghost Town," Forster pays tribute to his friend: "And he knew more than I knew," he sings. "And I hated what he hated too." At long last, the recipe for creative harmony is revealed.

- Jay Ruttenberg

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