Matthew Sweet - Kimi Ga Suki

Genre rock Publisher RCAM/Superdeformed External Links RCA

This project unites Sweet with the crew from Girlfriend, arguably his best album -- guitarists Greg Leisz and Richard Lloyd, drummer Rick Menck, though not key ingredient Robert Quine, who died by his own hand two years after this was recorded. With all the stars in place, why isn't this then as good as Girlfriend? Well, Sweet recorded this quickly, in about a week, not giving the band much time to cook up the intricate and galvanic guitar parts that sold Girlfriend in the first place, so much of this is power-riffing with the occasional solo sprinkled on top.

The newly independent Sweet would never admit this, but no longer recording for a major label makes a difference as well -- without a strong producer like Brendan O'Brien behind the boards, this album has no distinct sonic identity, and without the label looking behind his shoulder, Sweet doesn't have much motivation to come up with another "I've Been Waiting" either. Not to say that the artist doesn't produce the usual batch of catchy tunes however, and if forced to choose between the unalloyed approach here and the more bombastic, simultaneously released Living Things, the choice is easy, if not necessarily ideal.