Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet spent the 1980s as an unappreciated jangle Pop guitarist with Oh-OK and Lloyd Cole, as well as a solo artist. In 1991, with the release his third album entitledGirlfriend, he emerged as the leading figure of the American Power Pop revival. Like his British counterparts Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet adhered to traditional song craft but subverted the form by adding noisy post-Punk guitar and flourishes of Country-Rock, resulting in an amalgam of the Beatles, Big Star, R.E.M., and Neil Young.

Recorded with guitarists Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine, Girlfriend became a critical and commercial hit with its title track reaching the Top Five on the Modern Rock charts. For the next five years, as Alternative Rock dominated Rock & Roll, Matthew Sweet became a very popular concert attraction and solidified his reputation as the premiere Alternative Pop singer-songwriter. His next two records, Altered Beast (1993) and 100% Fun (1995) were both critically acclaimed with the latter reaching platinum status and making many year-end best-of lists.