Scott Bromiley and Luke McDonald of the bandThe John Steel Singers played many instruments on the album and were also credited as co-producers. Forster had previously produced their debut album, Tangalooma. Forster said, "from very early on I wanted to work with Scott and Luke from The John Steel Singers. I had most of the album written by about 2010 or 2011, and I had them over to the house and I just said, 'Look, I'd love to work with you on the next album, and you take the songs where you want to take them. I'm not just having you over here to play bass and guitar — go with it. Bring your sensibility into the songs and we can work together on them.'" It was also the first of Forster's album's to feature a strong contribution from his wife, Karin Bäumler, something they had wanted to do for some time. Forster was insistent that the recording be analogue. Forster claimed, "that was very, very important. I didn't want a screen. I wanted the musicians to play in a room and then come back inside and not stare at a screen. I wanted that atmosphere, I wanted that openness in the studio. And I like the sound of analogue as well." The album was recorded at Wild Mountain Sound, about a half-hour drive from Forster's home. Forster said, "The recording budget was lower than anything I have ever done and I found that liberating. You find another way to work. I had the feeling, I can do whatever I want." Twelve songs were recorded, with two omitted and intended for future release.
Reception
Songs to Play reached number 57 in the Austrian charts and 60 in Germany. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Songs to Play received an average score of 79, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The Guardian said listeners should "imagine Reed narrating a Talking Heads album and you’re getting close to the feeling of Songs To Play. For all its antecedents, though, Songs To Play is Robert Forster at his most singular. It's the sound of Forster starting anew, and the spring in his step is welcome." An AllMusic review stated "these songs are direct and kinetic, full of hooks, rich in metaphors and irony, and a sleight-of-hand confessionalism. Though rock & roll riffs are in your face, the quirky pop spirit of the Go-Betweens is never far away." The review noted the debt owed to The Velvet Underground, and also said, " these spirited, well-crafted songs offer rock & roll in a manner he's never even hinted at before." PopMatters said it "needs to be acknowledged as an album from a unique songwriter who just so happened to catch his sound so damn well that it makes a strong case for Forster’s artistic life beyond the Go-Betweens." Uncut called it "strikingly immediate, yet also rewarding repeated immersion. The 10 tracks here are, just as Forster intended, amusing, infectious and relaxed."
