On 1991's “Girlfriend,” his career-making masterpiece, Sweet effortlessly mixed crunchy power pop, bitter ballads and brilliant lead guitar work from Television's Richard Lloyd and Lou Reed sideman Robert Quine. “Sunshine Lies” seems a self-conscious attempt to recapture that golden era, with the return for two tracks each of Lloyd and of Ivan Julian, who worked with Sweet in the mid-1990s (Greg Leisz takes the lead elsewhere). It's a mixed bag.

DOWNLOAD THIS: “Flying”

– STEVE KLINGE