By: Rinjo Njori

Didn't Matthew Sweet die in 1997? Despite high profile projects over the last decade, Matthew Sweet is still a slave to his mid-90s legacy. For most people, he dropped off the radar after 100% Fun, Blue Sky on Mars and In Reverse were considered duds, a belief commonly attributed to the absence of the legendary Richard Lloyd and Richard Quine. This was also the period where Sweet gained the most exposure in the pop culture spectrum. He was featured in 2/3 of the Austin Powers franchise as the guitarist for Ming Tea. Using this new found star power he decided to form the rootsy Thorns with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge and his CSN flavored supergroup was a hit with critics and pretty much no one else. At one point they opened for Uber Playboy Jon Mayer. At this point, Sweet utilized his pop culture parachute by releasing the Japan only Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu- Think "Big in Japan". This record only saw the light of day stateside when his next album was released. Muddying his persona even more he adopted the moniker "Sid" and recorded an album of 60s covers with Bangle Susanna Hoffs.

Now in 2008, Matthew Sweet gets back on track with Sunshine Lies. His first proper album corrects the minor mistakes of Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu, most notably by releasing an incredibly satisfying album to the rest of the world and not just Japan. "Time Machine" and "Let's Love" reignite Sweet's psychedelic posturing using loops and guitar effects that made the harder songs on Girlfriend and onslaught of Altered Beast so satisfying. "Time Machine" takes the deconstructed route, opting for the inclusion of the sound loops and psychedelic guitar in the intro, middle and end of the song, much like the opening tracks, "Dinosaur Act" and "Divine Intervention" on Altered Beast and Girlfriend. On "Let's Love," the more straightforward of the tracks, he chooses to bury those elements in the wave of guitars. For "Flying" and "Room to Rock" Sweet indulges his fondness for 60s and 70s rock. "Flying", the superior track, mimics the British Invasion Freak beat of The Move and The Creation. There might be a tendency to bring up The Who, but Sweet's polish and robotic drums hurt the song. Falling somewhere between the hip swaying of Big Star's "Don't Lie To Me" and Electric Warrior-era T.Rex, "Room To Rock" invites excess and at points exposes the clichés of the big sounds of the early 70s. Almost on cue, Sweet finishes the chorus and launches into a guitar solo. Stuck more in the moment of the song and relying less on inspiration is "Sunrise Eyes". Which melds those two eras of music but with some over the top "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's" and brow beating guitar. The song is 100% Fun.

Depending less on inspiration and more on brawn, "Sunshine Lies," works on a number of levels: uplifting melodies, twang filled rhythm guitars and the ever present sound Sweet's voice on lead and backing vocals. When Susanna Hoffs comes into the latter half of the song, slowly taking over lead vocals on the chorus, it takes the song to the next level. "Byrdgirl" includes all those previous elements and as a result is a very good song, but the extra attention shows the little things can make a big difference.

Without dwelling on the negative, Sweet does underwhelm at points. After the spectacular 'Sunshine Lies," "Pleasure is Mine" falls flat because songs like this fill Sweet's other albums. There is no room for filler with all the good songs. "Feel Fear" is an excellent song but the toned down piano arrangement makes the song feel more Gossip Girl or One Tree Hill. When the chorus gets cranking, you get the feeling the song could have been a little more forceful.

Sunshine Lies might not catapult Sweet to superstar status but it does validate that all his extra-curricular activities over the last decade haven't hurt his ability to write a great song and more importantly records a great album. With a little luck maybe he can start a pop supergroup with youngsters Matt Berninger and Ezra Koenig or get rid of the vague Sid reference and release another excellent set of covers with Susanna Hoffs as Matt and Susie. More to the point, Sweet needs to keep releasing great pop albums and kill those silly Internet death rumors.

Labels: Matthew Sweet