It would seem that years of being in four or five bands at once has started to confuse
Matthew Smith just a bit -- while
Like Her is credited to
the Volebeats, the results sound less like the sadly beautiful country-shaded music he crafted on
Up North and
Sky and the Ocean than the bright and dynamic psycedelicized pop of another of his many projects,
Outrageous Cherry. Of course,
Like Her lacks the deep echoes and noisy freak-outs of
Outrageous Cherry's hallmark recordings, but for a change
Smith has given
the Volebeats their fair share of his gorgeous and infectious melodies, and the results seem to agree with the band, especially vocalist
Jeff Oakes, who sounds strongly engaged and enthusiastic on these tracks.
Smith's guitar work also seems to lean more towards a
Byrds-esque jangle on many of
Like Her's best songs, and even the sadder songs (such as "Can It Really Be?" and "September Spell") boast a lush undertow that's pure rainy-day perfection. The band's country influence does bubble to the surface on the litany of cool girls that is "Touch Me One Time" and "In the Garden"'s pledge of summertime love, but most of
Like Her finds
Smith and his cohorts blurring the lines between their pop and roots influences, and the results confirm this is a very good thing -- this is a great set of atmospheric and heartfelt pop music that satisfies on every level.
Ryan Adams, another guy with a knack for a hook who also likes
the Volebeats, co-wrote one song, " "Everytime," with
Smith and
Oakes.