In Reverse

Ever since Girlfriend, Matthew Sweet made tightly wound guitar pop, but In Reverse takes a different approach, borrowing elements from Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, the Beatles, and Electric Light Orchestra to create a seductive ocean of sound. Vocals, guitars, and pianos are given cavernous reverb, surrounded by grand percussion, backward guitars, and brass. Unlike many of his '90s pop peers, Sweet isn't aping Pet Sounds and Magical Mystery Tour just to prove that he can — this rich music is a personal interpretation of lush chamber pop and psychedelia, giving a musical counterpart for lovely melancholy songs of heartbreak and disillusion. In Reverse is a song cycle, with songs segueing into one another and playing off each other's themes, each blessed with glorious touches of neo-psychedelia and baroque pop. There's a unity of sound and song which makes In Reverse play like a concept album and, like any good concept album, it ends with a grandiose gesture — a nine-minute suite called "Thunderstorm" which fuses the Beach Boys, Neil Young, and Sweet himself in unpredictable, thrilling ways. In that one song, all of the themes and pretensions of the album brilliantly come together, and that's the most remarkable thing about In Reverse — it fulfills its ambitions while delivering the emotional impact of Girlfriend.