January Flower (Acoustic)

Album review

There's a joyfulness and simplicity to Mat Kearney's sixth studio album, 2021's January Flower. Some of this is due, at least in part, to the recording process which found him writing many of the songs while in isolation in Joshua Tree. He then returned to his home in Nashville where he finished the recording with longtime producer Robert Marvin, who also contributed to 2006's Nothing Left to Lose and 2011's Young Love. Consequently, the album has a generous, relaxed vibe that feels borne of the arid, sunny vistas and gnarled oak tree limbs of Joshua Tree. It's a rootsy quality that's matched by the production as Kearney frames his warm voice in sparkling acoustic guitars, woody percussion, and burnished synths. There's also a subtle '80s adult contemporary pop influence running through much of the album that he cleverly combines with more contemporary sounds. On "Pontiac," he sets a sepia-toned Bruce Hornsby-esque piano to a clipped hip-hop beat. Similarly, "They Don't Know" features a Mark Knopfler-style guitar line woven against a percolating analog drum machine. These are also incredibly hooky songs whose bright melodies Kearney smartly juxtaposes with introspective lyrics. In his early forties at the time of recording, Kearney seems to be looking back over his life and trying to find a balance in middle age. On "Pontiac," he ruminates on the less-complicated days of his youth, marking the passing of time with the poignantly ironic line, "My mama worried 'bout my marriage, but now I'm worried about my parents." And while there's an undercurrent of melancholic self-reflection underscoring much of January Flower, the overall tone is one of a buoyant, restorative pop bloom.

© Matt Collar /TiVo