Music Review: Young Love by Mat Kearney

Mat Kearney’s new album “Young Love,” which was released earlier this month, is already doing well. The album reached number one on the top albums in the iTunes store the same day it came out, causing Kearney to tweet, “Oh Lord…I can’t breathe…” Two days later, he tweeted again and said, “Still shocked.”

Kearney has been successful in the past as well. The single “Nothing Left To Lose”, which he released in 2006 sold more than 500,000 copies that year, and the album “Nothing Left To Lose” sold more than 450,000 records. Following all that success came the album “City of Black and White,” which reached number 13 on the Billboard Top 200. Now Kearney didn’t seem to experiment too much with his new album. His guitar strumming compliments the lyrics nicely in most of his pervious work, and he did the same for “Young Love.” Although he stayed the same, he did add some new sounds to his album. 

The first song from the album  is called “Hey Mama” and starts with hands clapping and is very upbeat. His song “Ships In The Lights” also has clapping going on, but this has a more serious mood to it. The clapping gives an interesting sound to songs and can even inspire one to dance while listening to it.

“Hey Mama” is a love song along with a few other songs on the album. The album title, “Young Love,” makes sense because a lot of the songs are about the emotions and situations that come with being in love. The love songs can relate to any of his fans, but especially to the younger generation since he focuses on what it’s like to make mistakes, meet the person of your dreams, and just fall head over heels for them.

The guitar strumming and the drums in this album stand out the most because even though they are simple to play, they bring the songs to life. Even with the most serious songs, the music makes it possible to sway along and clap your hands.

Kearney is a Christian and his song “Closer To Love” from his album “The City of Black and White” was played a lot on Christian radio stations, and drew in his spiritual fans. Kearney’s song “Down” on “Young Love” goes back to his religious beliefs. Although, “Down” talks about screaming at the “top of our lungs, ‘hallelujah,’” it’s possible to miss that it’s a Christian song by its upbeat, head-bopping mood.

The album “Young Love” smoothly transitions from songs about love, to songs about God, to even a song about his dad (“Rochester”), and he does this with catchy beats and relatable lyrics that will attract many fans.