Following the massively successful Double Allergic,
Powderfinger returned in 1998 with a new album titled Internationalist.
Powderfinger's high profile in Australia meant that the album was sure to be a success, and the release of the haunting "The Day You Come" as a single served to increase the interest surrounding the album. Unfortunately, the rest of the album didn't measure up to "The Day You Come." While there were some fine tracks on Internationalist (the rocking "Don't Wanna Be Left Out" and the melodic "Already Gone" are two such examples), much of the album was a mix of styles and ideas that didn't quite sit right as a whole. Some of
Powderfinger's uniqueness also seems to have been lost, with tracks like "Good-Day Ray" appearing to have been heavily influenced by the
Foo Fighters, and "Hindley Street" by
the Verve Pipe. Internationalist was not a bad effort by any means, but it seemed as if
Powderfinger had just overstretched themselves musically. ~ Jonathan Lewis