Review: Matthew Sweet, 'Sunshine Lies'

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BY L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / GZO

“Sunshine Lies” is Matthew Sweet’s 10th studio album, his first solo project since 2004’s Japan-only release “Kimi Ga Suki” and one of the best records of his 22-year career.

I’ve never made any secret of my friendship with Sweet, who grew up in Lincoln and graduated from Lincoln Southeast before moving to Athens, Ga., New Jersey and then settling in Los Angeles about 15 years ago.

Nor should it be any surprise that I like the same music that has influenced Sweet -- Big Star and the Byrds, Lindsay Buckingham and Brian Wilson and the ‘70s New York guitar punk of Television and the Voidoids from which he has taken guitarists Richard Lloyd and Ivan Julian, respectively.

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That, without doubt, means I’m inclined to like his records. But it also means I have a very good idea where those records are coming from and how they compare to his previous efforts.

Sweet’s generally pushed by critics into the category of “power pop” which today has nothing to do with either power or pop. Pop music today comes from the Mariah Carey school of screeching or teen-aimed R&B and hip-hop, not the ‘60s-rooted melodic sounds that inspired the tag. And power here only implies loud electric guitars.

That category, however, is too narrow to describe Sweet’s music -- a swirling combination of beautiful melodies and harmonies, taut, driving guitars and backbeat-rooted rhythms.

In the release for “Sunshine Lies” Sweet calls it “power-pop-folk-rock-psychedelia-melodic-singer-songwriter-type stuff.”

That’s good enough for me -- except for one addition. When I talked to Matthew last week, he said this was a “healthy” record. By healthy, he means a positive tone that pervades the record, whether he’s getting romantic on “Pleasure Is Mine” or expressing the desire to plug in and rock out on “Room To Rock.”

As is always the case, there are some real gems on “Sunshine Lies.” My favorites after about a half dozen listens are “Room To Rock,” the shimmering “Byrdsgirl,” which pays homage, you guessed it, The Byrds, the pure pop of the “Feel Fear,” which reminds me of Wilson and the rocking “Let’s Love.”

As has been the case of late, Sweet recorded and produced “Sunshine Lies” at his Lolina Green Studio, playing many of the instruments himself while bringing in his team of Lloyd, Julian, longtime drummer Ric Menck and L.A. go-to steel/slide guitarist Greg Leisz. His engineering/production/arranging skills have clearly increased, making “Sunshine Lies” a lush, layered perpetually satisfying listen.

Other critics have rightly noted that “Sunshine Lies” harkens back to Sweet’s trio of brilliant records from the early 1990s -- “Girlfriend,” “Altered Beast” and “100% Fun.”

But those who say that it’s his best work since then haven’t been paying attention. His California singer-songwriter-folk was key to the 2003 collaboration that became The Thorns and two years ago, he and former Bangle singer Susanna Hoffs made a brilliant record of ‘60s songs called “Under the Covers, Vol. 1”

Hoffs turns up here singing background on the gorgeous title cut along with Sweet’s wife Lisa, who was the inspiration for 1991’s “Girlfriend.” That literally brings “Sunshine Lies” full circle, connecting the past with the present, creating one of the peaks in Sweet’s continuum of beautiful rock ‘n’ roll.

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.