Modern Art

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Matthew Sweet’s music has always had its heart in the songs of the ‘60s. Even <i>Girlfriend</i>, his early-‘90s masterwork featuring guitarists Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine, used elements of The Beatles’ <i>Revolver</i> to make its musical points. With <i>Modern Art</i>, he works with his longtime drummer Ric Menck and layers guitars and vocals until the result sounds like a great lost pop album from a long-gone decade. The guitars crackle with psychedelic shimmers on “Ladyfingers” and the moonlit ballad “A Little Death,” while Sweet’s notable sense of melody brings “She Walks the Night” into tight focus. The beauty of Sweet’s music has always been its balance of sharp, spiraling guitars and a voice that wraps around each vowel with a loving caress. The tracks here feature the extra kick of growling ‘70s guitars and other muscular, modern recording sounds, while elements of The Beatles, The Beau Brummels, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Buffalo Springfield can be heard leaking from songs as disparate as “Baltimore,” “December Dark,” “Ivory Tower,” and the gorgeous “Sleeping.”

via Apple Music

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