While a lot of reviewers are going to trot out references to Neil Young when talking about Catspaw, the new Matthew Sweet album, a few others are going to mention Altered Beast from far back in Sweet's career. And a few more are going to astutely name-check Robert Quine, a guitarist Matthew's worked with, and continued to be influenced by, even now as evidenced by this offering. Still, to simply peg this new Omnivore Recordings release so easily is to do the release a disservice. Recorded entirely on his own, with the exception of the drums from the legendary Ric Menck (The Springfields, Velvet Crush), this album is full of crunchy rock, and fiery power pop.
"Give a Little" is all Buffalo Springfield and Byrds riffs updated a bit, while "Challenge the Gods" digs deeper, going for a sort of amped-up run at what Chris Bell did so briefly. Matthew Sweet feels like he's re-visiting his own influences all throughout Catspaw, but he's doing it so deftly that one almost doesn't notice. This one and "At a Loss" are spindly and energetic, Sweet's guitar-runs doing the heavy lifting on each. So much of this feels exactly like "Divine Intervention" so many years ago that one can almost forgive the inevitable comparisons by other reviewers to Matthew's earlier successes. Still, there's an intimacy running through Catspaw that makes it a unique effort in Sweet's recent career. If he nearly gets lost in the squall in "Blown Away" and "Parade of Lights", a listener can forgive him for so briefly indulging himself a bit, even as the hard-edged power-pop maintains a concise, precise attack.
Catspaw is not a re-invention but it is a revival of a considerable talent, one which has given listeners so much pleasure over the decades. In that sense, this record deserves a lot of attention for the way it illustrates how Sweet is willing to push the boundaries of his style, and still captivate with his brand of alt-rock. Add to that the fact that he played everything except the drums himself and we're talking a formidable, wildly-listenable record here.
Catspaw is out tomorrow via Omnivore Recordings.
More details on Matthew Sweet via the official website.
[Photo: Matthew Sweet Facebook]