On Feb. 24, Mat Kearney released his fourth studio album, “Just Kids.”
This is the Nashville-based artist’s first album since the acclaimed “Young Love” four years ago. “Young Love” is going to be hard to beat, but “Just Kids” is worth the wait.
Kearney started his career with firm roots in mid-2000s indie folk with the release of his first album in 2006. He very quickly began to include pop and hip-hop influences in his music, all of which can be seen in “Just Kids.” Fans expecting an album heavy on folk-rock and indie like “Young Love” may be disappointed, but “Just Kids” shows new growth on Kearney’s part, with hip-hop especially taking on a bigger role in Kearney’s music.
The atmospheric titular track “Just Kids” features Kearney sing-talking about his childhood in Eugene, Oregon over hip-hop beats. Limited instrumentation lets Kearney’s autobiographical lyircs such as “Mama said we’re sixth-generation Oregonians” and “never thought I’d ever make it quite this far” shine throughout the song. His past continues to be a theme during the rest of the album.
As the record progresses, Kearney delves into other aspects of his life besides his childhood, including his recent marriage, college in California, growth in his career as a musician and his connection to and rediscovery of his faith. However, he is not just blindly discussing his life; he weaves exceptionally detailed stories in a way that the listener can almost exactly picture in order to show the different journeys of discovery that Kearney has taken throughout his life.
While “Just Kids” is one of the darker tracks on the album, “Billion” is light and airy as Kearney sings, “seven billion in the world/I only wanna be with you,” referencing his wife, Annie Kearney. While the chorus of “Billion” sounds more similar to Kearney’s past work than other parts of “Just Kids,” strong hip-hop influences are still found throughout the song both in the beat and in Kearney’s tendency to sing-talk.
“Heartbeat”—the first single for the album that was released in Dec. 2014, continues with the themes of love found in “Billion.” It is one of the least autobiographical songs on the album with only a few references to Nashville. The song is still stands out on the album and even charted on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 chart after its release.
Rhythm has always been one of Kearney’s specific focuses: from hip-hop beats in “Just Kids” to Simon & Garfunkel-esque sounds in “Heartbeat” and “Black Sheep” and even military beats in “Heartbreak Dreamer,” the album doesn’t disappoint. By constantly changing it up like this, “Just Kids” is never boring.
Kearney moves past hip-hop and pop, combining influences from the ‘80s with his usual sound throughout the album in songs like “Heartbreak Dreamer,” “Moving On” and “Let It Rain.” While the album shows musical growth and maturity from the 36-year-old songwriter, Kearney still pays respect to his folk roots in songs like “Black Sheep.”
Despite drawing from so many varied sources, “Just Kids” never sounds discombobulated. Kearney has made a career on making “schizophrenic albums” like he says in his song “Los Angeles.” The consistency of the autobiographical themes throughout nearly all of the songs helps to retain its cohesiveness rather than it sounding like he tried to do too much at once.
Kearney will be touring “Just Kids” this spring and summer. More information can be found on his website.
