Matthew Sweet
Altered Beast
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What made Matthew Sweet's last album, Girlfriend (1991), such a treat was that it matched his introspective songs and weepy voice with bursts of extroverted guitar. A Revolver-era mix added ferocity to the musical attack while still allowing Sweet to hang his heart out. At moments a pedal steel would creep in, or Sweet would nail a hook home with a perfect multitracked harmony. On Altered Beast, guitarists Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine reprise their roles, and ex-Voidoid Ivan Julian adds to an already guitar-heavy mix. High-profile veteran pianist Nicky Hopkins and drummers Mick Fleetwood, Big Star's Jody Stephens and Pete Thomas of the Attractions are also on the
Read More scene. Unfortunately, though much of their playing is exciting, the music sounds cramped, the victim of too many overdubs. Rather than pointing up especially emotive moments, Sweet allows the music to swamp him. Only on the spare "Someone to Pull the Trigger," where Sweet advises his lover to "hold me and love me/Tie me up and drug me," does he strip away the garnish and deliver the urgent pop magic of his best work. In the lyrics he's the same old Sweet. He treats lost love in archromantic terms; heartbreak leads lovers to ponder life's meaning and dwell on death. This worldview is reflected in the music's often somber tone. The album's end piece, "Evergreen," finds Sweet sounding particularly desperate. "All your prayers they brought no answer," he sings. "Your faith was a lie." Frustratingly uneven, Altered Beast has its inspiring moments; the problem is finding them. (RS 665) ROB O'CONNOR |
