This is The World According to Buchs - Keepin’ it moving since 2003!

I made a trip to the Exclusive Company last week, looking for the new David Garza box set. They didn’t have it in stock, but I did see on the Big Board that there was a new Matthew Sweet album scheduled for release this week.

I was poking around on iTunes last night, and saw that it was available there. I’ve been a big fan of his stuff for quite some time - 100% Fun and Altered Beast are my favorites. I wasn’t as impressed with In Reverse, and although I enjoyed The Thorns, it was clearly a “project”.

Anyways, I’m listening to Living Things right now for the second time. I’m very disappointed. There’s no standout track on the disc. Unfortunately, there are a few that I’ll be sure to hit the “skip” button on next time I hear them (”Cats vs. Dogs” sucks).

The Chuck mentioned the other day that this album was recorded in one night, in the middle of the sessions for The Thorns. After listening to it, it’s pretty obvious - the sound is very similar to a lot of The Thorns, but you don’t get the harmonies. The lyrics are also repetetive - for instance, I’m listening to “I Saw Red” right now, and the majority of the song consists of those exact words, sung over and over - there’s a 2-minute stretch that contains nothing but some guitar noodling and “I Saw Red!”.

That’s not to say that the disc doesn’t have anything to offer. It just sounds much more like “In Reverse” than some of his earlier stuff. Which is to be expected - the guy can’t keep making the same records over and over.