If it wasn’t for my fellow record store compadre Don Plummer, it is highly unlikely I would have ever heard this absolutely fantastic album.  Girlfriend, and Matthew Sweet in general, was not something that would have been on my metal head radar in the early 90s but when you work in a record store, have the pick of the litter to listen to, and a fellow music fan that you work with, at least something on their playlist is liable to catch your attention.  And boy, did this album ever do that.

As a music fan, it’s often hard to describe favorite releases but if I had two words for Girlfriend I would call it “beautifully ugly”.  The dichotomy here is certainly a polar opposite but if you set aside a good hour to fully listen to this album you may understand what I’m talking about.  Sweet’s songs travel the sonic spectrum from full on rock, power pop, alternative, country, folk, and dreamy harmony; like some wild mix of Tom Petty, Neil Young, Cheap Trick, The Beatles, Beach Boys, Gram Parsons, Television, Cat Stevens, Todd Rundgren, and The Byrds all rolled into a giant ball across fifteen songs covering a wide range of emotions, written during Sweet’s impending divorce.  While the lyrical content in the songs run the gamut of heartbreak, despair, regret, and anger it is evenly balanced with a hope that things may turn out better and that new love may be on the horizon-  you may be going through a rough patch now but you will come out of this OK and things will get better.

So where does the beauty come in with such heart wrenching subject matter?  A good chunk of that comes via a combination of Sweet’s wistful, high tenor vocals and the richly layered harmonies that he lays down in many songs.  For example listen to his sweet (no pun intended) multi-tracked vocals on the killer power pop of “I’ve Been Waiting” and its mix of Beatle harmonies and Petty/Byrds jangle; or the melancholy tone paired with the Greg Leisz’ pedal steel work on the beautiful “Winona”; or how about the dreamy Beach Boy elegance found in the incredible “Your Sweet Voice”?  All great examples of the beauty, but…  what’s with the ugly?  Well, the ugly is actually beautiful in its own way but not what you’d call conventional beauty, especially with today’s clean and auto tuned production standards-  that “beauty” is in the mix of stellar, sometimes abrasive, often atonal yet excellent guitar work from Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine.

Take the first three songs from the disc-  “Divine Intervention” comes in with a bit of feedback before Lloyd and Sweet ride a loping, crunchy riff with a solid drum backbeat, Sweet’s yearning vocals and harmonies, and some absolutely wobbly yet searing guitar noodling that sounds like a cross between Neil Young and George Harrison.  Next cut, the aforementioned “I’ve Been Waiting”, is pure sunny pop along the lines of Tom Petty or REM with Lloyd once again stealing the show with a shimmering, jangly line and understated lead guitar bit.  Title cut “Girlfriend” rocks hard, guitarist Robert Quine on fire here with some solid riffs and tasty leads that counters the melodic chorus, Sweet’s harmonies, and Fred Maher’s killer drum work.  Those melodies, harmonies, and Sweet’s often gentle singing tones contrast well against the angular, caustic, heavier sounds from Quine and Lloyd, lending to an incredibly balanced musical experience and one moving album.

You want more examples?  Let’s check out some of the diversity of the remaining tunes:  How about the alterna-rock vibes of the warm vocals and crunch of “Evangeline” that features excellent interplay between Sweet’s chunky rhythms and Lloyd’s stinging guitar lines?  Or maybe the semi-flamenco vibe meets Lindsey Buckingham in the acoustic only “I Thought I Knew You”? How about the bluesy stomp of the menacing “Does She Talk?” featuring some dirty Quine riffery?  Or maybe your interest lies in the sweetly sung yet somber finale “Nothing Lasts” which features Sweet on acoustic and Quine adding some tasteful lead line accompaniment.

All in all, Girlfriend is a knockout of an album and one that ended up on many a critic’s best of the decade lists.  While Sweet has released a number of good to great albums since (check out the rocking 100% Fun), none really comes close to the excellence on display here.  If you like strong hooks, beautiful harmonies, great songs, poignant lyrics, and stunning guitar work, grab you a copy of Girlfriend today.