By Elyssa Goldstein
Matt Wertz’s fans were beginning to wonder how much longer they would have to wait for a new record. The last full-length release from Wertz came in the form of 2003’s landmark, Twentythree Places, preceded only by Wertz’s 2001 debut, Somedays.
Heralded for his pop sensibility in an age where music is becoming increasingly complex and programmatic, Wertz prides himself on the crafty three-minute pop song – one that is along the lines of collaborations from legendary music producer and songwriter Berry Gordy and the Jackson 5 from the 1960s and 70s.
However, Everything in Between only offers ten tracks, with a total duration just shy of thirty-four minutes, which leaves the listener begging for more. Each track is classic Wertz. The album opens with “The Way I Feel,” featuring a vocal collaboration with Marc Broussard, and maintains the feel-good tempo with “Heartbreaker” and “Like the Last Time” (nicely reworked from 2005’s Today and Tomorrow EP). Cuts like “Carolina” and “5:19” are standard on a Wertz record, but he indeed breaks his former mold with the “harder” “Over You,” the samba and funk-influenced “Naturally” and the acoustic-based “I Will Not Take My Love Away.” The latter has vocal chant/melodic drone lines, and simplicity vaguely reminiscent of “Honest Man” (from Today and Tomorrow). “With You, Tonight” is this album’s “Sweetness in Starlight” (found on Twentythree Places), as it is the ballad poised for first kisses, school dances and television background fodder.
Wertz steps up his responsibilities on Everything in Between by playing a more active role in its production (helping out is long-time mentor Ed Cash). In turn, he’s been rewarded with numerous collaborators: Dave Barnes, Justin Rosolino, Rob Blackledge, Brandon Heath, and Josh Hoge.
Ultimately, this record falls short of maximum success after what has been a significant waiting period for fans. While Everything in Between is fundamentally sound, it is over before it builds any true momentum. One wonders what Wertz was doing with his time between releases and if he might have struggled with his crafts more than he let on. It is evident that development did occur, but more of a creative outpouring was indeed to be expected. Wertz now has the difficult task of proving to his fan base that this latest disc belongs in both his repertoire and his listeners’ CD rotations.
