The Candle and the Flame
The Go-Betweens’ Robert Forster was already slowly shaping his eighth solo album when his wife, Karin Bäumler, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021. The course of the record changed dramatically from there, with both Bäumler and the couple’s son, Louis, formerly of The Goon Sax, contributing to the sessions alongside Go-Betweens bassist Adele Pickvance. The sound changed, too, stripping right back to quietly folky scaffolding. Bäumler’s illness also directly informed Forster’s lyrics, as heard on the solidarity-minded opener, “She’s a Fighter,” and the affirming “There’s a Reason to Live.” Reflecting on their three decades together, Forster pens one of the most poignant love songs of his long career in “Tender Years,” noting his firm grip on the past with the line “Memory is a servant/And I’ve been observant.” By the time he closes the record with “When I Was a Young Man,” he’s looking back on his life with an air of contentment that’s downright inspiring to behold.
Accompanied by family members and former bandmates, the Go-Betweens songwriter crafts a sparse but deeply felt album.
Discover The Candle and the Flame by Robert Forster released in 2023. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
This home-recorded album from the Australian singer-songwriter is at once premonitory and healing – and very much a family affair
Made in the wake of his wife and musical partner Karin Bäumler’s diagnosis with ovarian cancer, Forster’s eighth solo album is startling in its quiet power
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At an uncertain time, the former Go-Between takes stock. Album New Music review by Kieron Tyler