Matt Wertz: An Accidental Discovery

The age of downloadable mp3s took out the thrill of going to the music store.

I don’t want to act like a snob, but judging from the stacks I saw … you’d like to question the taste of either the seller or the buyers or both. You can’t blame them though, you sell what sells. If you want the oldest, the newest, or ones not sold by a “commercialized” company, the internet is your salvation.

One Sunday night, I caught “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” on cable, which was a funny movie. I found the songs in the movie quite good. There was one song that caught my attention, “Everything’s Right” by Matt Wertz. I went online to research.

On the official site, the biography of Matt Wertz will tell you little about the guy … but lots about the music.

For people who listen to Jam 88.3, there is a possibility that you have heard “Everything’s Right.”

Matt Wertz’s voice is the lighter, a little higher, sans the accent, and more relaxed/laidback version of Jason Mraz. His songs – sound and lyrics - are in the same line with Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Jack Johnson - the summer breezy or road-tripping type of songs.

“Everything’s Right” is from Matt Wertz’s 2003 album TWENTY THREE PLACES. It contains 11 songs. You can listen to the FULL-length (not snippets) of selected mp3s: “Everything’s Right,” “Counting to 100,” and “Sweetness in Starlight.” These three songs also happen to be very good … I am buying the CD!


Matt Wertz’s 2006 album, EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, has 10 songs. You can listen to two mp3s, “The Way I Feel” and “Carolina.” There is a song “5:19” which does not have a button on the site; it just plays on its own. “Carolina” is an example of the usual Matt Wertz fare, light and enjoyable to listen to. Comparing it to the older albums, there is little deviation in terms of sound. But it does not mean lack of growth as you can sense some experimentation in style in “The Way I Feel.”


TODAY & TOMORROW is Wertz’s 2005 semi-album … it contains only 5 songs and you can listen to “Wandering Eyes,” a bluesy track, and “Honest Man,” which is more on the acoustic side. I am guessing during this time it was the height of the John Mayer phenomenon … and this album could have joined in the fray.

SOMEDAYS (2001) is his oldest album. You can listen to three songs: “I’m Sorry, Mary,” “Even The Streets,” and “Lonely Tonight.” You can tell how much the singer has progressed musically. The songs I’ve heard here were a bit moody and sometimes angsty. You can sense the immaturity of the sound but comparing it to the other albums that followed, this one definitely set the style.


The guy is quite an accidental discovery for me. Check him out at www.mattwertz.com.