"So 'ere I am in me toime machine. Me Matt t'you, swoit.

"Y'see, oi bilt this thing frome ports oi found round me ole living reume. Wot's that yew say? ...Roit! A toime machine! Oi kin travole threw toime. It's reelie kwoite simpole. Oi sit'n this chare 'ere an' off oi am-- travellin' threw toime! Moy first stop woz me first big hit record, Gurlfriend."

Uh... Mr. Sweet. I'm afraid that you're doing it again.

"Wot?"

Well, you're using the accent again.

"Roite! It's me bloody ax-sent, mate! Con't change it!"

But you're Canadian, Mr. Sweet. You know, all "oots" and "sorey's." You aren't English.

"Roit, roit. Oi guess you 'ave a point there, don't yew. Very well. So where was I?"

You had built a time machine and were going back to 1991.

"Roit. So, anywoy, oi rode this 'ere toime machine back to noine teen noiny one."

Mr. Sweet, why don't you go over there for a while and let me finish your statement for you?

"Ahllroit. Oi'll jos' sit 'ere on me toime machine."

Well, with this album, Matthew Sweet's travelled back in time to the days of his Girlfriend album. It's in direct response to the criticism of his most recent albums. The critics say the excitement had gone-- they wondered where the fun went.

"Oi got plenty o' fun 'ere in me shoe, mate!"

This album is big. It finds Sweet enlisting the help of up to 16 musicians on some of the tracks. The big sound harkens back to a...

"Oi love the Phil Cowlins! E's me 'ero!"

Uh... the big sound here resembles a post- Genesis Phil Collins, complete with overdubbed harmonies and lots of reverb on the vocal tracks.

"Tell 'em 'bout me trick song on the record bizness! Oi'll show them critics to critic me!"

Ahh. I think Matthew here is referring to "Write Your Own Song," which asks the listener to go ahead and write his or her own song if they don't like what Sweet's doing. See if they do a better job at it.

"Roit! Well, tell 'em 'bout 'Thunderstorm!' That one's bleedin' ten minutes long!"

Nine minutes and thirty- seven seconds, actually. Yes, "Thunderstorm" is a slowly building epic that weaves its way from an upbeat opening ("I don't mind if the rain is coming down") to a soft, melodic middle as we "Wait for a calm in the storm" to a more tranquil section before exploding to close with a triumphant burst of sound.

"So eef yew wont an awesome, happy pumped up album, get me new one. In Reverse! Oi even did me cover art upside down so's that it's upside down. In reverse, loik."

We can't advertise like that, Matthew. Let's just let the good man do his review.

-Chip Chanko