Reckless

Morgan Wade

Released on 19/3/21 by Ladylike Records - Arista Nashville
Main artists: Morgan Wade
Genre: Country

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Every once in a while, a lightning-in-a-bottle debut album comes along—one that, front to back, is immediately as comfortable as an old favorite. It happened with Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapleton, and now it's happened again with Virginia singer-songwriter Morgan Wade. Produced by Sadler Vaden, guitarist for Jason Isbell's 400 Unit, Reckless has a lived-in, raw-edged feel that recalls Isbell's signature style and his shameless embrace of Americana, old school country and, yep, classic '80s pop. The terrific "Wilder Days," about wishing to have known a lover back when they were young and wild, could be an old Bonnie Tyler song, from the heartfelt delivery to the tambourine-inflected bridge and rich production quality, to, yes, Wade's soprano rasp. That effortlessly cool voice (not to mention her messy hair and sleeve tattoos) lacks the polish that's permeated so much of country music lately, and it's wonderful. The rasp is put to great use on the please-don't-go ballad "Mend" and heart-rending closer "Met You." Gently shuffling "Northern Air" captures the perfect little pocket of time that was mid-'90s No Depression alt-country, while "Don't Cry" brings to mind the earnestly quirky Edie Brickell era of '80s pop. It also raises a question: What makes a song "country" anyway? If you remove the guitar twang and the occasional Blue Ridge Mountains inflection of Wade's voice, "Matches and Metaphors" and "Last Cigarette" could be alt-pop. (A writer for the country site The Boot even compared the latter to early Halsey—and they're not wrong.) Wade packs in none of the usual heartland trappings that you'll find even on those early Stapleton and Musgraves records—trailer parks, diner waitresses, whiskey and more whiskey—instead focusing on a scope that's both universal and intimately personal. She got sober in 2017 but uses "Last Cigarette" to underscore how love can be an addiction too: "I want you one last time. Another hit to ease my mind. I don't want you to be over yet, Won't you be my last cigarette?" Wade also talked about how, with that sobriety, she cut off old friends; but "Other Side," with its woozy Southern rock guitar, tentatively pokes at a past relationship. "You knew my skin back before I had all these tattoos/ You remember me on late nights, strung out on pills and booze." The singer has said that, “A lot of the songs are about figuring out what the hell I'm doing.” We're lucky to be along for the ride. Wade is unlike anything else happening in country music right now. Here's hoping she triggers a reset. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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Reckless

Morgan Wade

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Wilder Days