Album Of The Day: Just Kids by Mat Kearney

Album Art of Mat Kearney's Just Kids album - A black and white photo of a man standing next to a woman. The man is on the left, wearing a black letter jacket with the letters 'JUST' on the front and his hands at his sides. He's looking at the camera with a bit of a blank expression. The woman has long, dark hair and has her back to the camera and is looking off behind the man. Her arm is interlocked with the arm of the man. She's wearing a black shirt with the letters 'KIDS' in the same letter style as the letter jacket. The background is gray and mottled, and there's a thick, light gray border around the edge.

Released on this day 10 years ago, this is Mat Kearney's final album created for a major label though he continues to create excellent singer-songwriter music more independently. This is possibly his most straightforward pop album. The hip-hop influences that appear on some of his albums are here, with some loops and big drum sounds. The title track has the most hip-hop vibe with spoken-word verses and a great backing track with some programming. Upbeat pop is the style of the album, though, with only a few of the later songs foregoing the heavy drumbeat and bass for an acoustic guitar. Many of the songs are love songs, like "Billion", "One Heart" and "Air I Breathe", plus a love letter to "Los Angeles". Many songs speak to life's hardships and relationships, like "Moving On", "The Conversation" and "One Black Sheep". Listening to this today reminds me that this album is even better than I remembered and I should listen to it more often!

Release Year: 2015
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify

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