Matthew Sweet On His New Album “Catspaw,” Omnivore Recordings, “Star Trek” & More
On Catspaw, Matthew Sweet’s 15th studio album — due out January 15, 2021 via Omnivore Recordings — Matthew Sweet did something he never did before on a studio album: play lead guitar. The acclaimed, award-winning, multi-instrumentalist’s new album Catspaw is indeed guitar-driven, as apparent in tracks like “Best of Me” and album-opener “Blown Away.” Lyrically speaking, Catspaw sounds to be the confessions of a mature, craft-oriented career artist, even if its title is a tip of the hat to a 1967 Star Trek episode Sweet adored as a kid. And to answer your next question, the home-studio-recorded Catspaw was finished just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States.
Solo career aside, Sweet has regularly found success as an outside collaborator and participant in multiple “all-star” projects. His music has appeared in numerous films, television shows and games, including Austin Powers, Guitar Hero II, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Simpsons and Scooby-Doo, while also serving as a lead consultant on Tim Burton’s Margaret Keane biopic Big Eyes in 2014. He has also notably recorded 3 albums with Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs as part of Under The Covers series, with Sweet having known interest in a fourth edition of this popular series.
On November 17, 2020, I had the pleasure of speaking with Matthew Sweet via Zoom, as embedded below. We not only talked about Catspaw, but also Star Trek, life during COVID-19, future plans and musical influences. A gentleman, to say the least, and more information on Sweet and Catspaw can be found at matthewsweet.com, facebook.com/iammatthewsweet and omnivorerecordings.com.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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