Matthew Sweet's forthcoming new LP Tomorrow Forever, the follow-up to 2011's Modern Art, was funded entirely via Kickstarter back in 2014. Thematically, the album deals with major shifts in Sweet's life: moving back to his native Omaha from Hollywood, the loss of his mother, and the subsequent writer's block that hit after his mother passed. Alongside his longtime collaborators Ric Menck and Paul Chastain, Sweet gets some assists on the record by the Zombies’ Rod Argent, the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris, and the Bangles’ Debbi Peterson, among others. A total of 17 tracks made the final cut, but Sweet had actually recorded nearly 40 prior to widdling it down.
One of those that stuck around is lead single "Trick," which we're premiering today. The song is hard-edged rock and roll with a power-pop strut, recalling Big Star by way of Guided By Voices. As Sweet describes it: "'Trick' could really be called 'Trick Of The Light.' It's a simple title for a song with a broad question, are we sure that what we see is real? Or, does a cosmic sleight of hand convince us to believe? Is life itself the trick?" Whether it's real or not, "Trick" makes an impact. Listen below.
02 "ENTANGLED"
03 "PRETTY PLEASE"
04 "YOU KNEW ME"
05 "CIRCLE"
06 "HAUNTED"
07 "COUNTRY GIRL"
08 "OFF THE FARM"
09 "NOBODY KNOWS"
10 "THE SEARCHER"
11 "MUSIC FOR LOVE"
12 "BITTERSWEET"
13 "COME CORRECT"
14 "FINALLY"
15 "CAROL"
16 "HELLO"
17 "END IS NEAR"
Tour dates:
05/15 New York, NY @ City Vineyard
5/16 New York, NY @ City Vineyard
07/08 Omaha NE @ The Waiting Room
07/09 Omaha NE @ The Waiting Room
07/11 Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
07/12 Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's
07/13 Chicago, IL @ City Winery
07/14 Chicago, IL @ City Winery
07/15 Springfield, IL @ Bedrock 66 Music Fest
07/16 St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill Duck Room
07/18 Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads
07/20 Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
07/21 Austin, TX @ 3TEN Austin City Limits Live
07/22 Austin, TX @ 3TEN Austin City Limits Live
07/23 Houston TX @ Heights Theatre
07/25 Jackson MS @ Duling Hall
07/26 Atlanta, GA @ City Winery
07/27 Atlanta, GA @ City Winery
07/28 Nashville, TN @ City Winery
07/29 Louisville KY @ Headliners
09/07 Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
09/08 Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head On Stage
09/13 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
09/14 Derry, NH @ Tupelo Music Hall
09/15 Brownfield, ME @ Stone Mountain
09/16 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
09/17 Norfolk, CT @ Infinity Hall
09/19 Fall River, MA @ Narrows Center for the Arts
09/20 Hudson, NY @ Club Helsinki
09/21 Wilmington, DE @ The Queen
09/22 Tarrytown, NY @ Tarrytown Music Hall
09/23 Port Washington, NY @ Landmark on Main Street
09/24 South Orange, NJ @ SOPAC
Tomorrow Forever is out 6/16 via Sweet's new label Honeycomb Hideout. Pre-order it at iTunes, Amazon, or Google.
