Despite the fact that it was his third outing, Matthew Sweet’s 1991 album Girlfriend provided the perfect introduction to his traditional but terrific combination of impeccably crafted songs, hurt vocals and glorious guitars. Sweet’s first two albums suffered from woefully misguided, electro-based production but Girlfriend’s optimism sounded the perfect antidote to the third-rate Heavy Metal and teenage grumbling of Grunge, cruising past the half-million sales mark in the States, confirming Matthew as one of the decade’s potential stars.

Things didn’t quite pan out like that unfortunately, even though Altered Beast, 100% Fun and Blue Sky On Mars each contained at least half a dozen reminders of the man’s ability to wring new wonders from the guitar/bass/drums format. Sweet’s profile has settled into that of a Power Pop superstar, a cult I’m proud to be a member of but a fringe sect nonetheless. Whether the new album will do anything to change his circumstances remains to be seen but it’s a fantastic piece of work.

Maintaining Sweet’s ’90s schedule of an album every two years, In Reverse sees him combining his usual stringent quality control with an obvious homage to Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound.