Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs

The Under the Covers project began when Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs collaborated on the soundtrack for the Austin Powers films and discovered their mutual love of singles from the ’60s. Originally intended to spotlight more obscure songs of the era, the project ended up featuring mostly recognizable hits, which is fine because the album works best when the pair gleefully romp through the more familiar songs, such as Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl,” Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now (Baby Blue),” and the Stone Poney’s “Different Drum.” As for the obligatory Beatles cover, one wishes they had chosen a better song than “And Your Bird Can Sing,” but they make up for it with a haunting cover of the Beach Boys’ “The Warmth of the Sun.” Hoffs’ and Sweet’s voices blend well into a sugary pop confection, and the instrumentation, featuring guest appearances from longtime Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks and Richard Lloyd of Television, is timeless. The album doesn’t reinvent or reinterpret the songs at all, opting for straight-ahead takes on the classics—but why would you want to mess with something that’s perfect to begin with?