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Matt the Electrician: It's A Beacon It's A Bell - COMPACT DISCSTitle: It's A Beacon It's A Bell Artist: Matt the Electrician Label: South Central Music Product Type: COMPACT DISCS UPC: 884501950145 Genre: Rock Release Date: 2007 08 30 Number of Discs: 1 Matt the Electrician crafts sharp narratives with equal measures heart and home. Evidence: It's a Beacon, It's a Bell. The longtime Austin resident's excellent new album showcases a seasoned songwriter in top form. "Look out the window at the road rushing by," he
Title: It's A Beacon It's A BellArtist: Matt the Electrician
Label: South Central Music
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 884501950145
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 2007-08-30
Number of Discs: 1
Matt the Electrician crafts sharp narratives with equal measures heart and home. Evidence: It's a Beacon, It's a Bell. The longtime Austin resident's excellent new album showcases a seasoned songwriter in top form. "Look out the window at the road rushing by," he sings on the stunning "Muddy Waters." "The shatterproof glass breaking up in your eyes/Your own private movie when things fall apart/Everyone's trying to break your heart." Details whittled from real experience frequently fortify his songs. "Muddy Waters" backs the claim. Matt dreamed up the song as he drove around Austin with his 12-year-old daughter after a big storm. Water under the Lamar Bridge was brown and green, colors he thought an interesting mix. "Yeah, it's dirty, Dad," his daughter said, unimpressed. "Muddy Waters" deftly charts our decidedly varying perceptions at different times in our lives and with age comes an acute awareness that everything moves in cycles. Listen closely. Lessons quickly emerge within the song's ebb and flow. Like "Muddy Waters," Matt's songs typically mirror his family life and the complexities of living as a touring musician and father, often far from home, on the move and unable to be in touch. Accordingly, It's a Beacon, It's a Bell offers several uniquely personal and autobiographical portraits brimming with universal truths. High watermarks deliver stark snapshots as engaging as enlivening. Sparse landscapes guide the journey. In fact, Matt has wanted to make this stripped-down record, a collection entirely with just guitar and vocals, for some time. These songs simply fit the mood. In some cases, they're admittedly quieter by nature and comfortable to play without accompaniment and longtime fans certainly will celebrate the evolution. While Matt has a local band, he tours internationally as a solo act and the most common question he hears on the road: "Hey, which record sounds like what you just did?" Well, It's a Beacon, It's a Bell finally offers the answer. Revisit the lush Accidental Thief (2011) for comparison. It's a Beacon, It's a Bell shines with simplicity. The new album effortlessly backs deep-browed story songs with an intangible everyman appeal, a characteristic folks quickly gravitate toward. "As a songwriter, Matt is able to balance honesty and sincere sentiments with really engaging story telling and humor," says instrumentalist and frequent collaborator Scrappy Jud Newcomb. "It's not always easy to pick out his influences, which I think is fantastic." In fact, Matt cites one legendary songwriter with lighting his creative fires as he wrote It's a Beacon, It's a Bell: Townes Van Zandt. While he loves being immersed in Texas songwriters who tell a straightforward story, Matt's most drawn to the Lone Star State's most elegant lyricist, a songwriter he only discovered upon moving to Austin in 1996. Like the boundless poetry moving forward Van Zandt's writing, Matt focuses these new songs more directly on the poetry of his words, finding ways to leave all the right lyrical holes while coloring in details important enough to spark imaginations. "Matt's greatest asset as a songwriter is his natural ability to tell a story," says Austin-based singer Seela Misra. "The world in his retelling is brutally honest, tender and hilarious at the same, a comforting combination. Equally comforting is his singing voice. You believe what he tells you." Key words: Honest, tender, hilarious. Yes, Matt's most thoughtful moments mirror Van Zandt. They shadow Guy Clark. Haunt every great Texas storyteller with an eye for triumph and truth. Still, every lyrical twist and turn maintains his own unique style and substance. "I think Matt will be an influence on a lot of songwriters in the future," Newcomb says. "What really stands out about Matt as a performer is he makes every crowd his own. By the end of his set, no matter who they came to see, the audience will be Matt the Electrician fans."
Tracks:
1.1 It's a Beacon It's a Bell
1.2 Only for You
1.3 Arkansas
1.4 Muddy Waters
1.5 The Family Grave
1.6 Pioneer Bride
1.7 Shivering
1.8 John Elliott
1.9 Under the Wire
1.10 Last Ones Left
1.11 Suitcase
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4.0 ★★★★★
Based on 15 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 2
Destroyed in under 10 minutes
Size: 9 in, Color: Large Bone
I bought 2 of these toys, one for my 9 year old great dane who isn't an aggressive chewer, and one for my 6 month old puppy who is average.
In less than 10 minutes both were destroyed and my dane managed to swallow a good chunk.
I wasn't surprised when they both had small holes on the ends and started pulling the stuffing out. The stuffing and squeakers were confiscated immediately, but I let them keep chewing. By the time I came back from throwing the insides away, both dogs had chewed the toys in half and my dane swallowed a chunk when he saw me coming. The puppy was going to do the same thing, but luckily we're working on his "drop" command so he was excited enough for the bigger payout and dropped it.
They didn't just come apart at the seams, the whole toy ripped in half making it too easy to swallow. Neither of them are aggressive cheers and the toys didn't hold up at all. A stuffed animal toy would have lasted longer (and has any time I've allowed it). 10 minutes of playtime is probably too generous , but I'm trying to be fair. If I hadn't been right there watching them, they both would have been able to swallow the whole thing in minutes. Definitely not safe for any amount of actual chewing.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2025
★★★★★ 5
The perfect teething toy for a puppy of any size - apparently indestructible!
Size: 9 in, Color: Large Bone, Size: 9 in, Color: Large Bone
I ordered this product for an overly excitable, destructive corgi chihuahua mix puppy, who was teething. He was a foster and managed to destroy, almost immediately, every toy I had on-hand for him, and toys I picked up at the local pet store. I was very concerned he'd swallow parts of toys, which can lead to fatal intestinal blockages, not to mention extremely high vet bills which I couldn't cover as a simple foster mom. When it arrived, I crossed my fingers that the "Seam Protection - doubled-stitched seams with heavy duty thread" would actually add "extra durability." And I was NOT disappointed! The bone shape of the toy would probably fit comfortably in the mouth of any dog or puppy, as you can see from photo #4. What's coolest about the shape of this toy is the pup can sink all of his or her teeth into it, providing comfort for the entire mouth and not just a few teeth or only one section of its mouth at a time. I was much more experienced as a kitten foster mom, and had had similar difficulties finding teething toys for kittens. This toy is thin and light weight enough that I imagine it could provide relief for little kitten mouths, also, but I didn't get to find out, as my little foster pup chose this as his #1 favorite toy and brought it with him to his forever home. I wanted to know how long it would take before he'd destroy it, though (picture 5 he'd had this Dura-Fused bone toy for a few hours short of one week, and the last photo - you'll see he'd not even undone a small portion of the seam!) Overall I would highly recommend this product for teething babies of almost any species. As far as I could tell it is indestructible. Almost seven days of constant gnawing and he'd not even taken one stitch out, created any tear or rip, let alone, gotten close to being able to swallow the squeaker (always a fear!). I imagine months later, he's still been unsuccessful at ripping/tearing this toy at all. I'd gladly buy again should I foster any dog or puppy - the company lives up to its moniker, Ethical Products, because they've produced a no-frills and apparently indestructible squeak toy which I'd have no fears of leaving with a teething puppy unsupervised. Highly recommended!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2020
★★★★★ 3
Good tug toy
Size: 15 in, Color: Retriever
I have a doberman that shready everything in 2.5 seconds. This lasted a few days so was impressed for the cost. Would buy again as he really liked it.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2025
★★★★★ 5
My dog’s new favorite
Size: 8 in, Color: Squirrel
didn’t expect much for the price but my dog actually loves this thing. It’s tough enough to hold up to regular chewing and the leather gives it a nice texture that’s different from the usual plush toys. He carries it around like it’s his prize. It’s not indestructible and if your dog is a heavy shredder it probably won’t last forever but for moderate chewers it holds up way better than a lot of toys I’ve tried. Definitely worth grabbing again.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2025
★★★★★ 4
Not for gnawers
Size: 11.5 in, Color: Bear
I was hoping this would work for my teenage ACD and save my leather goods from being chewed on.
He gnawed on it quietly I was thrilled. But I had to take it from him within a few minutes. Gnawing apparently equals chewing pieces off.
Not made for chewers or gnawers.
It seemed to be well made, was soft, was actually a fairly good size and didn’t get gross when it got spitty. Just didn’t work out for Captain chaos destructor of all.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2026