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Matthew Sweet has always had a bit of fun naming his albums: He called his last one Blue Sky on Mars after the climax in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Total Recall and the previous one 100% Fun because critics claimed he wasn't having any. Now, Sweet seems to be baiting critics once again with the title for his forthcoming record, In Reverse, which practically begs disparagement.
Overall, Sweet has never been at the top of critics' hit lists. His
1991 album Girlfriend is considered a landmark alterna-pop
album, and subsequent hits like "Sick of Myself," "We're the Same"
and "Where You Get Love" have helped the singer-guitarist sustain a
relatively successful career. By Sweet's account, In
Reverse reflects a marked change in sound, with the employment
of a Phil Spector-style recording atmosphere on songs like "If Time
Permits" and "I Should Never Have Let You Know," and a
ten-minute-plus medley ("Thunderstorm"), which features up to
fifteen musicians playing simultaneously. Last month, Sweet told
Rolling Stone.com, "[the album's] not really slick in a modern
record kind of way. It's really old-fashioned because it's big and
fat and kind of direct, but it's been a really fun record to make
and I have a good feeling about it."
In Reverse is scheduled for release Sept. 28 on the
BMG-distributed Volcano/Jive label. Sweet will launch a promotional
tour in support of the album.
BLAIR R. FISCHER
(July 20, 1999)