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CD REVIEWS |
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WRITING
REVIEWS
SILVER
BELLS WEDDING
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Mat Kearney didn’t write his first song until midway through college. Raised in Oregon, he was influenced by artists such as Michael Jackson and Paul Simon and between his junior and senior year at California State University started his musical career. He left for Nashville where he recorded his first album, Bullet, in 2004. Three years later, VH1 helped Kearney break into the big time by keeping his single Nothing Left to Lose in their rotation for 45 consecutive weeks. The television channel then sent Kearney out to headline their You Oughta Know tour. With the networks help plus an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, Kearney watched as singles Nothing Left to Lose, Undeniable and Breathe in and Breathe Out crack the Top 40. Co-produced by Kearney and Robert Marvin, City of Black & White was recorded last year in Nashville based on a sound Kearney calls a late 80s/epic kind of way. “I wanted the songs to come to life when I played them live,” Kearney said. “I had been listening to a lot of Sam Cooke and I wanted the rhythm sections to make your head bob before you could decide if you liked the songs.” If that was his goal, Kearney failed. Song List
While Kearney is a decent songwriter, his music never rises to the level of other contemporary artists. There are a number of obvious influences on his sound from Coldplay to Jack Johnson to REM to Dave Matthews. Unlike Matthews, Kearney’s voice doesn’t have that extra something and unlike Johnson his songs don’t have the unique beat that makes them standout in your memory. While REM and Coldplay songs possess smart lyrics, Kearney’s lyrics seem a bit cheesy and everything comes across as a life or death situation. It is too much. The opening track, All I Have, is a slightly upbeat number with that specific beat Kearney was talking about. It gets your head bobbing but when you listen to the lyrics you begin to question how original of a songwriter Kearney really is. With lines like “Don’t you come around here, come around here anymore” and “Every breathe, every step, every moment I’m looking for you” does nothing but bring back memories of better songs by better artists. The song is followed by three more radio friendly adult contemporary songs. While Kearney does not possess a unique voice that rises above ordinary, he does sing with a warmness that relaxes and soothes the listener. I found myself listening to the songs and while very few were memorable, they all put me in a tranquil mood. Not every album needs to be upbeat and energetic but I would hope that they would at least be catchy. Out of those three radio friendly songs, Fire & Rain has the best lyrics and both it and Closer to Love have a nice beat behind them. Then we reach Here We Go and Lifeline, both with lyrics that seem boring, uninspired and repetitive. Neither song gets high marks from me but I find the next song, a soft piano ballad called New York to California to be a beautiful song. With a sound very similar to Coldplay, Kearney delivers some of the most heartwarming vocals on the album despite the lyrics still being a bit cheese. “If you found yourself lose out in this world/then I’d find a way to get back to your side/No mountains too high, no stone is too small/I’d build a bridge through the fire/For you I’d crawl from New York to California.” If he sang with this much honesty on all the songs, it would have made for a much better album. The rest of the album puts me to sleep with the exception of two standout tracks. Annie is a song that tells the story of a girl trying to escape a troubled situation (“Cause Annie’s got to get out before she never can/We’re chasing for the ceiling, I’m grabbing for her hand/We’re calling on a thin phone line tonight/Cause Annie’s got to get out”). It’s a nice little song amidst the clutter of generic tunes. The final song is one of the best tracks on the album, City of Black & White. The song has one of the best beats on the album and some really catchy lyrics (“I don’t want to wait until tomorrow/to tell you how I’d feel the rest of my life/You don’t want a waste another minute to realize/Walking on the dark side of the evening/Baby it is you that opened my eyes/Burning like a fire on the water/The city of black and white”) Mat Kearney’s third album is a boring mix of generic adult tracks. His writing is slight and unmemorable and his voice has nothing to help him stand out from his contemporaries. There are some good songs including City of Black and White, New York to California, Fire & Rain, Closer to Love and Annie. Five decent songs do not make a good album.
6.0/10.0 |
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