First off I'd just like to say that I like this record quite a bit. Though billed as something of a Indie-folk super-group (Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins) the album most definitely belongs to Sweet. I dare say it's the best thing Matthew has turned out since his masterpiece Girlfriend. There's very little not to like here. Lush production, plenty of hooky choruses, terrific harmonizing that recalls the hay-day of Crosby Stills and Nash and the Eagles. It's just a nice record unless you're looking for something edgy and challenging. I'd give it a 4 1/2 if it weren't a bit too antiseptic and unoriginal. Plus I would have liked to have heard a little more input from the other fellas.

I've never been much of a fan of Mullins, but Droge is a great talent in his own right and the album would have profited some if his contribution wasn't almost entirely from the backseat. All this quibbling notwithstanding the Thorns sounds great and the record plays well from start to finish. I'd have to recommend it quite highly particularly to fans of the aforementioned icons.