Matthew Sweet's Ringing Guitars Return

Matthew Sweet.

Henry Diltz

Matthew Sweet knows what it means to be an unappreciated songwriter. He spent the '80s in the fertile Athens, Ga., pop scene, made it big with 1991's power-pop gem Girlfriend and then quietly fell back into obscurity. He still plugs away, churning out album after album of clever, thoughtful power-pop.

Sweet spent the late '90s and early '00s avoiding the instrument that defined his sound — the chiming guitar — but his latest album, Sunshine Lies, marks his welcome return to the guitar as a primary instrument. In a session with host David Dye, Sweet performs material from the new album and discusses the affinity for biology he developed as a kid.