Mat Kearney - January Flower

Mat Kearney's January Flower is a return to his songwriter roots, a 2021 album that balances acoustic warmth with the beats and rhythmic phrasing fans know him for.

The record began in 2019, when Kearney retreated to a house in Joshua Tree, California, with songwriter Eli Teplin and painter Marshall Roeman to write without pressure. He produced much of it himself in his Nashville home studio, experimenting with new ways to frame the songs, then reunited in 2020 with Robert Marvin, the longtime collaborator who produced his breakthrough Nothing Left to Lose. The finished album feels personal and unhurried.

Opener "Powerless" turns the idea of losing control into something almost freeing, riding a bright, rolling groove. "Grand Canyon" and "Can't Look Back" fold in the hip-hop and electronic touches that have always set Kearney apart from his singer-songwriter peers, while "Pontiac" brings things back to plainspoken storytelling.

Thirteen songs long, it plays like a conversation with an old friend, honest and easygoing, with choruses that sneak up on you after a few spins.

For fans who first found him through Nothing Left to Lose, it is a welcome reminder of what drew them in, and a fine fit for a slow Sunday on the turntable.