Matthew Sweet's 15th studio album and third since moving from Los Angeles to his home state of Nebraska, 2021's Catspaw finds him further digging into his anthemic power pop and tube-amp guitar wizardry. Following the 2013 move, Sweet set up a studio at his house, where he'd recorded 2017's Tomorrow Forever and 2018's Tomorrow's Daughter. Both of those albums found him embracing his sparkling brand of '60s- and '70s-inspired rock, and Catspaw is much in the same vein. Again recorded at his home, Catspaw is a darker, rawer ...
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Matthew Sweet's 15th studio album and third since moving from Los Angeles to his home state of Nebraska, 2021's Catspaw finds him further digging into his anthemic power pop and tube-amp guitar wizardry. Following the 2013 move, Sweet set up a studio at his house, where he'd recorded 2017's Tomorrow Forever and 2018's Tomorrow's Daughter. Both of those albums found him embracing his sparkling brand of '60s- and '70s-inspired rock, and Catspaw is much in the same vein. Again recorded at his home, Catspaw is a darker, rawer-sounding album than both of its predecessors, with a more focused and uniform aesthetic. Part of this focus comes from Sweet playing all of the instruments except for drums, which were supplied by his longtime collaborator and Velvet Crush member Ric Menck. There's also an abundance of slower, midtempo songs which lends the album an air of moody gravitas. Still, there are strong chorus hooks here, punctuated by Sweet's serpentine guitar work -- a style influenced by his past guitar collaborators including Robert Quine and Television's Richard Lloyd. He kicks things off in muscular fashion with the slow-churning "Blown Away," his acidic harmonies and bluesy guitar licks evoking Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Also engaging are cuts like "Give a Little," "Challenge the Gods," and "Drifting," all of which bring to mind a mix of Big Star and Tom Petty. Also, the album's crunchy guitar tones and double-tracked vocals evoke Sweet's own classic albums like Girlfriend and 100% Fun. This, even as his lyrics find him ruminating on life as an aging rock singer with a sense of pyrrhic, hopeful rage. On "Challenge the Gods," he sings "Rise above, take your place/Punch the world in the face/Use your time to rise above." With Catspaw, Sweet has crafted an album that cuts deep and leaves a strong impression. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi
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