Matthew Sweet

In Reverse

A tour-de-force

Review Score:

(10/10)
After a few good, but not great, albums, Sweet brings it all together in his newest release. This is one of those magical records that keeps getting better every time you play it, and the epic 9-minute closer "Thunderstorm" is simply stunning. Destined to be a classic. It's length is not due to some pointless guitar theatrics either- it is a medley of sorts that begins and later returns to a lovely theme. It and other songs have, to me, have some of his best lyrics in a while. It is worth the price of the CD alone. I just saw him last night in LA opening for Guided By Voices, and he and his 6-piece band put on a blisteringly rocking and melodic hour-15 minute set. "Thunderstorm" closed the set, and I thought it was the highlight of the evening (and I'm a big GBV fan). An unconverted friend was converted to the Sweet cause. Some of the songs aren't exactly groundbreaking in the Sweet catalogue by any means, but have those instantly memorable melodies that his best songs on "Girlfriend" and my other favorite "Altered Beast" offered. Not every song is glorious, but the good ones are SO good that it doesn't matter! This would be a good CD for first-timers to buy, and required for any long-standing fan.

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