Resound Radio | Album Reviews

Nothing Left to Lose

Mat Kearney | April 18th, 2006

For me, Mat Kearney was an odd choice for the next CCM artist to break into the mainstream. However, after listening to his mainstream debut Nothing Left to Lose, I can't deny its appeal. Kearney dropped his first album, Bullet, into the Christian market in 2004 before turning the heads of a wider audience. Some of the songs on Nothing Left to Lose are taken straight from Bullet, offering a mix of old and new for fans who decide to purchase this disc as well.

Kearney thrives in the arena between harmonies a la Coldplay and hip-hop spoken verses. The first track “Undeniable” (originally from Bullet) is a worshipful tune that completely conveys this. “Nothing Left To Lose” follows, which is a radio-friendly tune with more singing than rapping. “Girl America,” also from Bullet, depicts the trials of a young girl in our present day and age. “In The Middle” follows, which has a great acoustic pop drive to it and is one of the many highlights of the album.

The latter half of the CD offers highlights “Wait” and “Renaissance.” Also included is a great love ballad called “All I Need.” This song has an incredible build of thematic proportions before ending with the quiet strings of an acoustic guitar. In this song, Kearney makes an excellent declaration of love to his one and only. “Where We Gonna Go from Here” and “Won't Back Down” close out the album, providing an excellent finale.

Kearney wields a creative and talented pen with regards to his song writing. At times he can be a bit cryptic and leave the listener wondering what he is trying to convey. However, there's little doubt that Kearney takes his songwriting seriously. His topics range from problems within our society (“Girl America” and “What's A Boy To Do”) to earthly love (“All I Need” and “Crashing Down”) to his faith (“Undeniable” and “Renaissance”). While some may complain that Kearney is a little too cryptic in regards to his faith, it is apparent throughout Nothing Left to Lose. Kearney conveys Christian ideals in various ways through a number of songs. Kearney is one of the best lyricists Christian music has to offer right now and it only makes me happier to know the mainstream is being exposed to his musings.

Nothing Left to Lose is an incredible pop album that proves Kearney is worthy of the wider audience he's gathered. If this CD is any notion of what Kearney will offer in the future, the future truly looks bright. The only thing Kearney has left us longing for is an album of completely new material, but Nothing Left to Lose is more than worthy to fill the void.

Reviewed by Jarrod Steinmetz on December 16th, 2007

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