lambchops's Full Review: Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet is one of a few very talented singer/songwriters who has never been given the commercial success that he so deserves. Critically, he burst onto the scene in 1991 with his third solo album Girlfriend.
Sweet shed his New Wave style and put together an album that will likely go down in history as his most extraordinary musical endeavor. As the first album from the Nebraska native released by Zoo, the work was less rigid and not as over produced as previously ignored solo attempts. Girlfriend was a modest hit initially with the lead single Divine Intervention. But, it wasn’t until radio picked up of the title track Girlfriend that Sweet’s album became a modern rock success story.
The fifteen lightly melodic yet intensely meaningful tracks that compose Girlfriend are great examples of the talent possessed by Sweet. He, in the 1990’s, became a master of guitar driven power pop. In 1991, his sound was new and different yet derivative of artists from The Beatles and Neil Young to R.E.M. Overall, the tracks seamlessly drift into one another. Girlfriend is one of those rare albums in which every track adds to an overall impression and emotion.
Girlfriend eventually did manage to go gold. Those sales aren’t too impressive, but with such substance it’s difficult not to appreciate the artist who made it happen. Sweet is helped out on the album by two accomplished artists. Both Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd add their guitar talents to the tracks. Let me say this one more time. Girlfriend is creatively exquisite and marks a high point of Sweet’s career (now almost into its third decade).
Starting strongly with minor hit and lead single Divine Intervention the album starts out on a strong note. Plodding and melodic, Sweet croons easily repeatable lyrics on top of grand electric guitar riffs. I can’t imagine a more complete or more representative track to introduce fledgling fans to Sweet, his lyrics, his guitar, and his innate musical talent.
Radio ready pop track I’ve Been Waiting also proved popular on modern rock radio a decade ago. The melodic and soft guitar line with lightly tapped drums and dreamy, winsome vocals were just what radio likes to cater to. Ironically, Sweet’s lyrics aren’t quite as gentle as the music. That said, this is am impressive and entertaining track.
Girlfriend is my favorite song. With each listen, I find myself completely engrossed by the strange pairing of classic rock guitars and styling paired with Sweet’s high pitched vocals. The song is wholly entertaining, uptempo, and energetic. In the age of grunge rock, music like this was a welcomed and light release. But, the song as a whole is masterful and not just simple pop. It’s difficult to deny Sweet’s talent after listening to Girlfriend.
Songs like Looking at the Sun and Evangeline are also power pop classics with the latter encompassing all that is good about Sweet’s take on rock and roll. But, Winona shows that Sweet has a great sense of humor. Dedicated to sullen generation x poster princess Winona Ryder, the track is a honky tonk ode to unrequited love. Sweet’s strange voice is an interesting contrast to the slowly moving country guitars. In fact, if it weren’t for his voice I’d assume that this was a straight country song.
The only song that annoys me even a bit is Holy War. Sweet seems to be trying just a little too hard to rock out. It’s not that the song is technically bad it’s just that over a decade later, the Gulf War subject matter is no longer of interest or in the least bit pertinent. Holy War is a half-hearted anti-war anthem. Sweet is just better off sticking to humorous, light, and more creative tracks like those I’ve already mentioned.
Overall I do truly enjoy Girlfriend. I can understand how some listeners would be turned off by Sweet’s overall weak vocals. But that is the way with many singer/songwriters. The vocals tend to take a back seat to the music. And, in this case the music is rich and multi-layered. The guitars aren’t as heavy as in many of my other ‘favorite’ albums, but it is still a classic album. In fact, I believe that Girlfriend will go down in modern rock annals as a proper classic. I give this album 5/5 stars.
Track Listing:
1. Divine Intervention
2. I’ve Been Waiting
3. Girlfriend
4. Looking at the Sun
5. Winona
6. Evangeline
7. Day For Night
8. Thought I Knew You
9. You Don’t Love Me
10. I Wanted to Tell You
11. Don’t Go
12. Your Sweet Voice
13. Does She Talk
14. Holy War
15. Nothing Lasts
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*Check out my other Matthew Sweet opinions for more information about the artist and his albums:
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