“Better Than I Used to Be” by Mat Kearney ft. AFSheeN, Saturday, April 9, 2022

Mat Kearney's music has changed a lot from when he debuted in 2004 with his first record Bullet on Peter Furler's Christian label InPop Records. Kearney's early work infused acoustic singer-songwriter styles with hip hop, a style the singer mostly abandoned by this third record, City of Black & White. Nine years after that stylistic departure and three records that didn't seem to move far beyond the folk-pop sound, Kearney released a poppier, more electronic-inspired record, CRAZYTALK in 2018, which produced the single “Better Than I Used to Be.” 

MY PLANE LEAVES TOMORROW. Teaming up with Iranian-American electronic artist AFSheeN for the first track on CRAZYTALK, "Better Than I Used to Be," Kearney expands upon his sound. Although AFSheeN has worked with much bigger artists than  Kearney, remixing and producing, AFSheeN's most streamed song is Kearney's 2018 hit. The singer-songwriter has written for K-pop acts such as NCT and BoA and American artists Selena Gomez and Madonna. AFSheeN's LA man-bun adds to the Nashville-bro vibe that Mat Kearney exudes in his discography; this time playing in the higher registers that synthesizers give a song rather than a guitar-based track. While the acoustic version of this track is worth a listen, the original propels   CRAZYTALK  to sound distinct from Kearney’s previous work. Elsewhere on the record, Kearney collaborates with Filous and RAC, a Portuguese-American remix artist. The neon pink album cover also sets an ultra-modern vibe for a Mat Kearney record. West-coast-born and Nashville-based, Kearney fits into the group of Nashville musicians who rub shoulders with country stars, CCM big-wigs, indie rock bands, and coffee shop singer-songwriters. CRAZYTALK attempts to transcend whatever sound that is. 

 

BUT MY HEART HAS ALREADY LANDED. A strong point in Kearney’s music is his use of nostalgia. The “kids in the back seat” reminds listeners of their own youth. The video for the song, though, shows a youth who was less than ideal, growing up on the poorer side of town in a rough neighborhood. Kearney talks about this song being inspired by his relationship with his wife, actress Annie Kearney, though the lyrics and video hint that it could also be about family members or friends of the singer. But it is the love of someone special that makes Kearney claim that he is "better than [he] used to be." It's that love that drives him home from his touring and work. It's that love that influences him to continue to create art. And while Kearney's fanbase no longer pushes him up the Billboard Hot 100–the mix of Christians who want an edgier artist who might say hell or damn occasionally out of context and the left-over Grey's Anatomy fans— the fanbase is still strong. I've still yet to try 2021's January Flower, but I'm pretty sure that I can find something organic and honest on every Mat Kearney record, whether from '06 or '21. But is CRAZYTALK better than he used to be back in 2009 with City of Black & White? Not quite. It's hard to beat an album that’s an artist's musical awakening record when they shed the silliness of their youthful songwriting quirks and only refine the excellent parts of themselves. Today, adding electronics is kind of a lazy fix to try to keep things relevant. Somehow so many listeners--myself included--fall for those sweet electronic hooks.

Read “Better Than I Used to Be” by Mat Kearney & AFSHeeN on Genius

Original Music Video:

Acoustic version: