Mat Kearney [City Of Black & White]
Posted May 20, 2009
By KevinDavis_NRT, Staff Reviewer
Following the success of his major label debut, “Nothing Left To Lose”, Mat Kearney has returned with an evolved sound and a world of new experiences. Three years later, and thanks in large part to VH1—which kept “Nothing Left to Lose” in rotation for 45 consecutive weeks, an open-hearted album of self-discovery, “City of Black & White” is a chronicle of the people he met and missed during that journey.
In fact, the first song “All I Want” begins with the lyrics “Here we go at it three years later
Will you help me to dream it all up again”. I really enjoyed “Nothing Left To Lose” and the musical diversity and catchy lyrical style. I would describe Mat’s style as a great mix of Jack Johnson, The Fray, Matthew West and Brandon Heath, which are among my favorite artists. “All I Want” is one of the catchy standout songs on the album and is a great way to start off the album. “Fire And Rain” is another nice upbeat song. Hit single “Closer To Love” is my favorite overall song on the album. Overall, it reminded me of Brandon Heath’s award-winning “Give Me Your Eyes” musically. The album lacks strong spiritual messages and reminds me more of a Jack Johnson album relative to the number of songs about relationships such as “Here We Go” and “New York To California” which are nice songs and also both remind me of “London” by Brandon Heath.
Unlike Matthew West and Mat’s last album, I was disappointed that this album is a tad mellow overall and lacks any urban style musically or lyrically. The album is a nice listen and includes several memorable songs including “Annie” and the closing song “City Of Black & White”.
If you liked “Wait And See” by Brandon Heath and “Something To Say” by Matthew West, you’ll like the musical style of this album, but lyrically it is much more like “The Fray” by The Fray and “Sleeping Through The Static” by Jack Johnson. View All Music And Book Reviews By KevinDavis_NRT | View KevinDavis_NRT's Profile
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