The Matinee

We Swore We’d See the Sunrise (Light Organ)

With five out of five members of the Matinée clearly committed to celebrating their inner beardos, one can be forgiven for getting the wrong idea about We Swore We’d See the Sunrise. The group’s look suggests Fleet Foxes–era Sub Pop with a dash of modern-day Main Street boho. Despite that, its sound is like classic classic rock, which might sound like a putdown, but is actually meant as anything but.

The first thing that hits you on this completely professional-sounding 12-song debut is how the Matinée seems not of its time, the country-tinged songs instead evoking an era when Tom Petty and Neil Young were kings and FM radio was programmed by actual music fans instead of faceless multinational corporations. What also stands out is the way that the group sounds like it couldn’t be happier to be alive, the good-times vibes practically rolling right off the shimmering lead-off track, “Young & Lazy”.

What follows, from the harmony-drunk, banjo-powered steamroller “Sweetwater” to the acoustic comedown “The Sinking of the Greenhill Park”, is an impressive mission statement from a band that’s arrived on the scene fully formed. Classic classic rock? Well, despite that sounding hyperbolic, it’s not far off.