This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Matthew Sweet deserves as much credit as anyone for the current power-pop revival. After all, the critics’ darling singer-songwriter and guitarist was churning out first-rate pop-crunch back when Cheap Trick were still on their first comeback.
So you’d expect In Reverse to be a real bash, with Sweet as the life of the party he helped start. Instead, for some bizarre reason, he retreats into the corner, strumming away on his acoustic guitar and spinning slow, dreamy webs of ’60s jangle-pop. Granted, Sweet’s craftsmanship is such that wimpy, second-rate tunes like these are still better than most folks’ singles. Still, for him it’s disappointing. Maybe he’s trying to stay one step ahead of the pack, but to us In Reverse sounds like a step backward.
