Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs (Shout! Factory)

The bleating excuse offered by authors of covers albums is usually that they’re trying to bring something new to the originals.

Not so with this sorry waste of time, in which Hoffs (of The Bangles) and Sweet deliver 15 virtual note-by-note reconstructions of such overplayed oldies as Maggie May and You’re So Vain.

Offering nothing new, this clutch of bar-band doodles and karaoke singalongs may be the most arrogant release of the year.

WILL FULFORD-JONES