It’s been a long time since Matt the Electrician made his last official house call. But although the days of his eponymous trade are behind us, Matt’s still got the spark to put a tap in our foot and a smile on our face each time he plays. In our ever-crowding, sometimes cocky live scene, Matt the Electrician really does humble the competition thanks to decades of astute observations and unpretentious performances, unplugged or otherwise. And with a discography as deep as his, comparing the output from his folk rock contemporaries to Matt the Electrician is almost like a drop in the ocean.

Speaking of which, Matt the Electrician just finished up his latest installation last Friday with his full-length The Ocean Knocked Me Down, a sixteen-track tidal wave of lighthearted fun and buoyant optimism that features some Austin favorites. Over the next couple weeks, this electrician will be workin’ on a regional circuit, with stops in Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas before returning to Texas in March. Glancing at Matt the Electrician’s calendar, there’s a suspicious gap right where SXSW lands, but we do know for sure that he’ll have another Austin show on April 20th at The Rollins Theater.

Until then, if you’ve depleted your remaining surplus of holiday cheer, let The Ocean Knocked Me Down wash away that wintertime blues with charming originals like “Human Echo”. The second track in The Ocean…‘s new batch, “Human Echo” reverberates with skanky ukulele, unruffled trumpet riffs, big bear hugs of group vocals, tasteful key chords, and the jocund wisdom that whatever it will be…is whatever it will be.

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