Antipodean McCartneys

Message to My Girl is a “latter-day classic from Split Enz” and “the missing link between I Got You and Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over according to the Guardian’s Russell Cunningham writing for the series ‘Old Music: A Daily Dig Through the Past.’ “Message to My Girl is a lovely bit of pop perfection recorded in 1983. Written by Neil Finn, the song provides a seamless segue between, say, this by Split Enz and this by Crowded House — an audible bond between two fine bands. Kick back and take in Message to My Girl: the languid spine; the pulsing, bobbing bass; the layered keys; the final chorus’s clarion vocals and, indelibly, the melody — one of those pesky details lost on many a flailing pop composer these days. This is a great song, by a great band with a couple of gifted tunesmiths. The antipodean Lennon and McCartney? Perhaps — but more likely McCartney and McCartney, given their knack for hooks. Brilliant.”