Maren Morris, Girl - album review
She’s touted as a country music star, but there’s so much more to Maren Morris than that.
Particularly on these shores, a lot may be put off before even giving her a shot based on that description. But there are far more elements of pop and guitar rock in her music than the country roots she has become so associated with.
This is the 29-year-old Columbia Nashville artist’s sophomore album and comes off the back of her 2016 debut Hero.
It arrives full of sunshine vibes from the Texan, mixed in with some funky, thwonking bass lines and, yes, some pained country strands.
Say Hello To All My Favourite People, featuring Brothers Osborne, is her country grounding here. They pretty much lift the sound of the verses from Dolly Parton’s 9 To 5 for starters. But throw in those snaking guitars with their deep south drawl and T.J. Osborne’s bourbon-laced guest vocals and you’ve got a line dancing, foot stomping romp through all that makes country accessible to ‘lite’ fans of the genre. And there’s time for a knee slapping solo from John Osborne too as organ keys holler in the background.
The rockier Prince vibes of Flavor feature softer, building waves over which Maren is allowed to show the range of her voice. Her sweet, acid-tipped style again sits at odds with what you’d normally think of when picturing ‘country’. “I’m thinking of my own flavour” she opines – very fitting!
There’s pure power pop flowing through Great Ones. The chorus is a real crescendo of sound as guitars mix with layered synths for an impending doom sound that adds some danger to her softer approach to singing.
The title track has one of those uplifting pop-rock feels that made Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful so popular. She aims for empowering and pulls it off without sounding too forced or unbelievable.
There are so many styles at play here that have a beautifully polished feel thanks to the Grammy Award-winning busbee and Greg Kurstin sharing the production credits.
If she keeps bridging gaps like this there’s no reason Maren can’t amass a huge fanbase cherry picking from all of her chart-topping rivals’ pools.
Rating: 7/10
Maren Morris performed at Birmingham’s O2 Institute last night
