On his second album, City of Black and White, Mat Kearney leaves behind any lingering folkie traits, along with any hippie rapping, and dives headfirst into pure AAA songcraft, placing sweet melodies at center stage. Kearney's songs go down easily but that hasn't stopped him from relying on a glistening production that sugarcoats everything he s...

On his second album, City of Black and White, Mat Kearney leaves behind any lingering folkie traits, along with any hippie rapping, and dives headfirst into pure AAA songcraft, placing sweet melodies at center stage. Kearney's songs go down easily but that hasn't stopped him from relying on a glistening production that sugarcoats everything he sings, supporting his tunes with lightly looped rhythms, guitars that whisper or echo like the Edge and keyboards so subtle they merely add texture. It's a ProTooled production, but thankfully it's merely mannered, not overly fussy: everything is in its right place, right down to when the fingers squeak on the guitar strings, the subtle tapestry as intrinsic to the album's success as Kearney's gently insistent melodies. While nothing here is attention-grabbing -- that's just not his style -- this is adult alternative mood music of the highest order, a record that might serve up some songs the dedicated can sink their teeth into but is best heard for how it elegantly glides into the background. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi