Matt the Electrician

Accidental Thief

After seven albums, you might wonder if Matt the Electrician is running out of ideas, steam. Nope, neither. Accidental Thief again exposes a combined lyrical and melodic sense that’s innocent, inventive, and seemingly bottomless. Where most singer-songwriters shy away from the folk tradition, Matt Sever embraces it fully. He employs a broad range of acoustic instruments – horns, glockenspiel, cello, banjo – that lends his songs an organic backdrop, rickety yet near-perfect settings for his sincere, quirky observations of life. Veering from the theatrical bop of “All I Know” and dramatic “Pioneer Bride” to the jaunty, whistle-along “Crying,” MTE covers a lot of ground. The usual cast of characters – Seela, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Mark Addison – assists with production, but it’s primarily a one-man show. “You should have been long gone,” he sings on the gently loping “Long Gone.” Continuing to make music as enchanting as Accidental Thief will ensure that Matt the Electrician’s going to be around for a long time. ***

This article appears in June 24 • 2011.

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