Sweet Goodbyes was meant to be a final treat for the fans of
Krezip -- a lucrative live release that sweetened the pain of the group's disbandment. But, in fact, it works as a good best-of package -- even better than the one they have actually released at the time. The live environment takes away some of the excessive polish that plagued
Krezip's studio releases, reducing them to unremarkable pieces of radio rock, slick to the point they became featureless. Not that
Sweet Goodbyes lacks slickness -- its unbelievably clear and crisp sound has all the marks of studio processing -- but the immediacy of a live show gives the songs additional power and makes the hooks stand out more, though not to the point of working a miracle:
Krezip always had the skill to deliver a nice post-grunge pop/rock song somewhere between
Matchbox Twenty and
Avril Lavigne -- simple riffs, verse-chorus structures, a larger-than-life approach, a modest doze of angst and all -- but they could never live up to the top-league guys in terms of catchiness. The songs on
Sweet Goodbyes, though pleasant, are never gripping, but the arena setting allows
Krezip to get by on sheer bombast, which would have been even more irresistible if they had embraced it instead of downplaying the epicness. But, although the record is tamer than it ought to be, it's still a good listen with a share of exciting and sentimental moments, as well as live treats such as crowd singing and a stripped-down rendition of "Billy Jean." There's not much interacting with the audience, and such as there is comes in Dutch, which is pretty amusing for an act whose singing is in English, but it adds flavor to the record that still has no strong taste, but presents the band at its finest.