He co-founded the Go-Betweens (1977–89, 2000–06) with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977 and issued four solo albums: Watershed (1991), Fireboy (1992), Horsebreaker Star (1994) and In Your Bright Ray (1997).

Joh Bjelke-Petersen was Premier of Queensland at the time, and McLennan was arrested in a student protest against aspects of that government's conservative policies.

Forster encouraged him to learn bass guitar – McLennan had no musical training – and to form an alternative rock band, the Go-Betweens, in Brisbane.

[7][8] In November 1979, the Go-Betweens' McLennan and Forster travelled to England and then to Scotland, where they recorded new material, including their third single, "I Need Two Heads" (June 1980).

[2] In November 1981, the Go-Betweens issued their debut album, Send Me a Lullaby, with Lindy Morrison as their permanent drummer.

[10] McLennan told Gavin Sawford of Rave magazine, in April 1996, that "[it] is to me an inauspicious debut... if I'd heard that and I wasn't in the band, I think my comment would have been 'What the fuck is going on here.'

"[10] In 1982, they relocated to London and recorded new material, also during that year McLennan was part of a side project, Tuff Monks, with Forster and Morrison joined by label mates, Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard of the Birthday Party.

AllMusic's Norm Elrod noticed that McLennan "isn't the most talented singer; his voice is a bit plain, and his range somewhat limited.

[8][17] McFarlane compared it with his previous one and found it was "an even more melancholy set of songs that boasted fuller (though never obtrusive) arrangements".

[17] Ned Raggett of AllMusic felt it "finds the musician in excellent form, with a baker's dozen worth of songs that won't challenge preconceptions, but do make for a great listen all around" with "sweetly sparkling, sometimes barbed, numbers".

[8][17] It was recorded in Athens, Georgia with American session musicians and was produced by John Keane (R.E.M., Indigo Girls, Vic Chesnutt).

[20] McFarlane praised "its wide-screen outlook, the album shifted from country rock to bright acoustic pop with a great deal of optimism and passion".

[17] Raggett opined that it was "more of a country/Southern rock bent...his ear for focused, sharp lyrical portraits of life and love, paired with his ever-striking crisp singing style, continues to lead the way".

[8][17] AllMusic's Jack Rabid found it "returns him to his more well-trodden ground... [and] is as warm and soft as a cake out of the oven, a just-washed blanket, and an Eskimo coat".