Album Review: Sweetheart of the Sun by Bangles

When the Bangles re-formed in the early 2000s and released Doll Revolution in 2003, the band seemed split between trying to recapture the jangle pop sound they had when they began and trying to stay current with the times (in terms of production). On the second album to come from their return, 2011’s Sweetheart of the Sun, there are no attempts to stay current. Instead, by hiring Matthew Sweet to co-produce, the band makes it clear that they are ready to embrace their power pop past.

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One of the things that first brought the members of the Bangles together was their love for the jangly guitar pop of the late ‘60s, and the band leans heavily on that style on Sweetheart of the Sun, their first studio album in eight years and their first since bassist Michael Steele’s retirement. Though Steele’s absence is noticeable, especially in the group’s lush vocal harmonies, the Bangles’ strong pop sensibilities are more than enough to carry the album, which boasts their most stripped-down and loosest performances since their debut. Frontwoman Susanna Hoffs enlisted frequent collaborator and fellow power-pop aficionado Matthew Sweet to produce the album, and Sweet’s instincts for this kind of retro-styled material are spot-on.

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DUM DUM GIRLS “Only in Dreams”. (Sub Pop).

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