The thing we liked right away about MELLOW DRUNK was their lack of pretense, combined with the startling direct effect they had on our waylaid heartstrings.  When they offered to record a cover of "Boundary Rider" we had a feeling they'd be near perfect for the part.  From what we had heard, their songs sweep easily through a whole range of lovestruck emotion and shipwrecked betrayal, yet they deftly sidestep cliché and overwrought arrangements.  As it turned out, their version of one of Grant's most affecting tunes turned out to be a shimmering paragon of imprecise virtue.  LEIGH GREGORY, the creative force and main drive behind Mellow Drunk, has the perfect voice for singing about dreams and let-downs, about always wanting more… and dangling his beaming infatuations before us.  Yes, they may lack pretense but they somehow inspire us to exalt in pompous prose!  And the list of artists and bands Leigh and Mellow Drunk have played with--Lloyd Cole, Supergrass, Luna, and The Church among them--lend further proof of the strength of their artistry and the respect from their fellow artists...and should be yet another reason to compel you to experience them live. 

Slimmed down to a two piece for this recording (co-founder Ricky Maymi was a founding member of the Brian Jonestown Massacre), Mellow Drunk take Grant's evocative song and add layers of acoustic guitar and a haunting vocal that adds majesty yet is still borne of a demanding earthy romanticism.  It's over way before it should be, and how many tribute songs can you truthfully say that about? 

Boundary Rider, like Cattle and Cane, was inspired by Grant's memories of life on the fields of Queensland.  It appeared on Oceans Apart, the critically acclaimed 2005 release by The Go-Betweens that marked what was thought to be the start of a greater, and much deserved, presence of the band within a broader audience beyond that of their devoted followers and ever-supportive music critics.  With Grant's passing last year, this evolution was abruptly disrupted.  But Grant's words live on, continuing to inspire, transform, and even transport us. 
As memorialized in PopMatters:

McLennan doesn't need to describe the street you've been on, because you're invariably on the street he's describing. His success doesn't rely on precise descriptions, but on the inviting nature of the songs -- you very quickly arrive where the Go-Betweens take you. You don't need to have spent time on a horse to join McLennan "on the five mile fence" with the "bloodwood, bones, and steers" in "Boundary Rider."  You end up in places when you listen to the Go-Betweens whether you know it or not.