A Life Full of Farewells

Album review

Peter Milton enjoys a well-deserved cult following. And each of the releases or reissues from his group The Apartments is scrutinised in minute detail. This time the reissue in question is of A Life Full of Farewell, which originally came out in May 1995 and is now finally available in digital format. Three years earlier, the pop masterpiece Drift had sent the Australian (who was very briefly part of the Go-Betweens) straight into the songwriters' hall of fame... With his third album, Walsh foregrounds strings (arranged by himself and Romano Crivici) the pedal-steel guitar, played soberly here by Tommy Grasso, and Jeff Crawley's delicate trumpet playing. With a more chamber-based approach than on Drift, Walsh's work has often deserved to scoop up silverware. Take, for example, End of Some Fear, a spirited kind of pop symphony written around bright acoustic guitars, violins, percussion and trumpets, all making for a rather intoxicating ride. A Life Full of Farewell moves, with equal dexterity, between beauty and sadness without ever feeling heavy. For while Peter Walsh is a fascinating and melancholic guru, this native of Brisbane and his accomplices also boast a crucial dose of instrumental refinement. One to rediscover without delay.  © Marc Zisman/Qobuz