''Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu'' (, lit. "I Love You – Life") is an album by

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

musician

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

. It was released on Cutting Edge in 2003.

Release

Released in April 2003 as a "thank you" to Japanese fans, it received a United States release the following year. Sweet stated in the liner notes of the album (which is translated in Japan as: ) that he wrote the album in the course of one week in January 2002. The album marked a reunion of most of Sweet's ''

Girlfriend A girlfriend is a woman who is a friend, acquaintance or partner to the speaker, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed r ...

''-era bandmates. Sweet mixed, produced and engineered the album at his house. The album cover was designed by Japanese artist

Yoshitomo Nara is a Japanese artist. He lives and works in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, though his artwork has been exhibited worldwide. Nara has had nearly 40 solo exhibitions since 1984. His art work has been housed at the MoMA and the Los Angeles Coun ...

. Also in the liner notes, Sweet described the album's title as an attempt at reverse

Engrish ''Engrish'' is a slang term for the inaccurate, poorly translated, nonsensical or ungrammatical use of the English language by native speakers of other languages. The word itself relates to Japanese speakers learning r and l, Japanese speaker ...

: "If I did it correctly, the title should seem a little strange or wrong, but still meaningful! The true definition is supposed to be a 'love you' life, one devoted to loving someone or something, even life itself!"

Critical reception

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' wrote that "songs like 'Morning Song' and 'Wait' find Sweet revisiting the rootsier side of ''Girlfriend'', particularly in the generous use of slide guitar, and 'Love Is Gone' distills his best instincts with a lovely melody and aching harmonies." '' No Depression'' wrote that the album "churns with immediacy, from power-pop gems 'Dead Smile' and 'The Ocean In-Between' to the dark, Cheap Trick-like 'Spiral' and the acoustic twelve-string jangler "Love Is Gone'." '' The Rough Guide to Rock'' called it "a little less polished, but certainly otlacking in the great tunes and hooks department." ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' wrote that "it’s good to hear weetloosen up to the point where his perfectionism no longer suffocates his songs."

Track listing

All songs written by Matthew Sweet. # "Dead Smile" - 3:00 # "Morning Song" - 2:37 # "The Ocean In-Between" - 2:48 # "I Love You" - 4:38 # "I Don't Want to Know" - 2:28 # "Warning" - 2:54 # "Spiral" - 1:50 # "Love is Gone" - 3:27 # "Hear This" - 3:22 # "Wait" - 2:38 # "Tonight We Ride" - 2:44 # "Through Your Eyes" - 7:13

Personnel

– vocals, guitars, bass *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...

– guitars (2–10, 12) * Richard Lloyd – guitars (3–6, 9–11) *

Ric Menck Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, ...

– drums Production * Matthew Sweet – producer, recording, mixing, liner notes * Haruka Tsukamoto – design *

– sleeve artwork * Jiro Oshima – Moji artwork

References

2003 albums Matthew Sweet albums Albums produced by Matthew Sweet {{2000s-alt-rock-album-stub