There are albums that tell a story, like Pink Floyd’s "The Wall" or Taylor Swift’s “folklore.” There are others that only give you impressions, mental images and accompanying feelings that linger like a daydream. Mat Kearney’s semi-self-titled ninth album, which came out on Friday, falls into the latter category.
According to an article in the Santa Barbara Independent, Kearney got his break in the music industry when his 2006 song “Nothing Left to Lose,” from his second album, was certified gold the next year.
Kearney’s songs have blended indie, folk-pop, hip hop and electronic music over the years, reported Vail Daily. This album leans into the folk-pop, almost acoustic side.
The songs feel like sunlight streaming through a coffee shop window or a rainy night in with the lamps and candles blazing. They sound like a montage of relationships and maturing, even as a thread of nostalgia runs throughout.
The parenthetical portion of “Mat Kearney (still drowning in nostalgia)” refers to one of the songs from 2024’s “Mat Kearney.” The reference encapsulates how this album contains the 12 songs from “Mat Kearney” while also offering six new songs, one of which, “Certainty,” is a cover of a Big Thief song. The project is a continuation, a throwback, an elaboration.
Take “Good Thing Going On (ft. Abbey Cone),” for example. The track was on “Mat Kearney” with the artist singing alone. The updated version weaves Cone’s feathery vocals with Kearney’s generally lower tones, adding dimension and texture. It’s what a duet should be.
The impression it leaves is one of young lovers, content and starting to settle into their relationship. It’s reminiscent of Andy Grammar’s “Fine by Me,” although much more relaxed.
Other songs on the album — “Headlights Home” and “Old Flame” to name a few — sound like later stages of a relationship: established, steady, deepening. There’s appreciation (“Real One,” “Easy,” “Dandelion”) and yearning (“My Two Hands” and “Daydream”).
The songs are almost all upbeat and laid-back. Vocals, guitar and percussion lead the way, giving the album an easy, acoustic feel. Kearney rarely puts much force behind his voice — these aren’t songs to sing at the top of your lungs — but that only adds to the sense this is music you’d hear at an artsy coffeehouse.
An exception is “Palisades,” a faster, electric-guitar-forward song that I imagine sounds great in a stadium. It makes me want to drive down a winding road, my hand surfing the air outside my window, volume way up.
“Kevlar” is also up-tempo, though that doesn’t take away from its gentle beauty as an expression of understanding what someone else needs, even if they never verbalize it.
Meanwhile, “Sumac” feels like hammocking in a sunlit Oregon forest. The imagery is strong, composed of the birdsong that forms part of the track’s background, with the bongo-esque beat and the lyrics “It’s like I’m flying through the trees/swerving in and out of powdered evergreens.”
“Daydream” is one of the closest things this album has to a sad song, though that’s a purely subjective take. The lyrics are wistful, ending on a sweetly contented note, but something about the song strums bittersweet strings inside of me, making me think of what-might-have-beens that never were.
The specificity of some of the lyrics, particularly from “Daydream,” lends a sense of genuineness to the songs on “Mat Kearney (still drowning in nostalgia).” It’s a relatable album, even if you haven’t had the same experiences as Kearney.
There’s a line in “Is It Just Me” that goes “Where that test I forgot about still haunts me in dreams,” and I love it. It’s relatable; it ties the past to the present, just like the album does.
All in all, “Mat Kearney (still drowning in nostalgia)” makes for easy, lovely listening.
