Internationalist is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger. The album was released on 7September 1998 and was often labelled Powderfinger's most adventurous work, with greater experimentation than in previous works.
Internationalist followed in the success of its predecessor, Double Allergic, and was certified five times platinum in Australia. Internationalist received four ARIA Music Awards, including "Album of the Year". The album produced four singles for the band; "The Day You Come", "Don't Wanna Be Left Out/Good-Day Ray", "Already Gone" and "Passenger", which all appeared on Triple J's Hottest 100 poll in two consecutive years.
Internationalist received fairly positive reviews in the Australian press, and cemented Powderfinger's position on the local music scene; however, the album failed to launch the band in the overseas market.
Background
Powderfinger spent much of early 1997 touring, after the success of Double Allergic. Songwriter Bernard Fanning then spent much of 1997 writing songs for Internationalist in Brisbane, drawing on inspiration from a mid-1997 band trip to the United States.
The album's title refers to escapism—namely, the ability that an "internationalist" has to escape from racial and social tension. When asked in a Juice interview, Bernard Fanning summarised the title of the album by stating;