"Wicked System of Things was written and recorded very quickly in early 2017. It was partly inspired by a show I had played with Cheap Trick in January. After the show, Tom Peterson (who I've known for a long time) and I had discussed he and Rick Nielson playing bass and guitar on something of mine, and needless to say I was giddy about the idea! With this in mind I immediately started about a week of writing, then recorded drums with Ric Menck, and even though it never worked out for the Cheap Trick guys to play on the record (we both had new albums and extensive touring coming last summer) I quickly finished up the project playing bass myself, with Jason Victor playing most of the guitars. I think of the project now as a sort of a tribute to midwestern power pop, having grown up in Nebraska idolizing bands like Cheap Trick, The Raspberries, Shoes etc. Recorded here in Omaha, it too has Midwest roots. Some of Jason's guitar has a bit of an 80s new wave vibe, and maybe the whole record has a special vibe that allowed for that. It is very much a snapshot of a moment in time when I was inspired to create something special." –Mathew Sweet