Maren Morris- Dreamsicle
Label: Columbia
Producers: Maren Morris, Jack Antonoff, Evan Blair, Joel Little, Naomi McPherson, The Monsters & Strangerz, Greg Kurstin, Jimmy Robbins, John Ryan
Much has changed for Maren Morris since she last launched a full studio album with 2022’s Humble Quest. At that time, Morris was still one of the rare female voices granted regular access to the top ten of the mainstream country charts, and she seemed destined to remain a leading voice in the genre for a long time to come. Over time however, Morris grew tired of Nashville’s notorious politics–industry, gender, and otherwise. This all culminated with a formal announcement in 2023 that Morris was leaving the country system behind, something that instantly cast her as a genre-outcast and that was only further punctuated with the fabulous two-song EP, The Bridge. In the midst of all of this, she also ended her three-year marriage to fellow country star, Ryan Hurd, further intensifying a season of change for the 35-year-old singer. To say Morris had a well of new and emotional life experiences to pull from as inspiration for this, her fourth studio effort, would be a vast understatement.
As expected, there are numerous songs throughout this new record that tap into the emotional aftermath of both these aforementioned separations, whether it be various break-up tunes (“Cry in the Car”, “Cut!”, “I Hope I Never Fall In Love”, “This Is How A Woman Leaves”) or moments like the funky “People Still Show Up”, the album’s opening cut “Lemonade”, or the more pensive “Carry Me Through”. There’s nothing as fantastically confessional or narratively pivotal as “The Tree”, but there’s plenty of time for her to hopefully circle back to that realm, which admittedly was meant to capture an ultra-specific moment in time. Additionally, there are very few traces of her trying to maintain any sonic connections to her country roots, despite the clarifying claim that she was only leaving the industry, not the art-form.
But let’s be honest; this isn’t really that drastic of a stretch for Morris. Even as far back as her 2016 debut, Hero, her vocals were more frequently cited to have recalled 2000’s Rihanna, than 2000’s Miranda, and the sonic make-up of her records were often-times country in name only, not that this in and of itself is that unusual for a modern mainstream country star of course. Therefore, this shouldn’t really be classified as creative exorcism for Maren. Nevertheless, her official departure from the Music City machine still feels like it’s given her the liberation throughout Dreamsicle to fully embrace and lean into what has realistically been her artistic truth for the better part of a decade now: that Morris is one of the most fruitful modern pop stars making music today. That aplomb is evident throughout the various tracks already mentioned, and especially on numbers like the deliciously cheeky, booty-call kiss-off, “Bed No Breakfast”, or within the insatiable contagion of a track like “Push Me Over”. It’s unfortunate that it’s likely too late for her to further capitalize on the high-profile pop-goodwill afforded by the Hot 100 dominance she enjoyed with Zedd and Grey back in 2018 with their inescapable collab, “The Middle”. If this album had been released immediately on the heels of that success, it’s quite likely that Maren Morris would be looking at a regular residency in the upper-echelon of the mainstream pop hit-parade.
As is presently stands, Dreamsicle instead seems most destined to find its largest audience nestled with her already well-established base of die-hards, and there’s no doubt that Maren Morris is perfectly satisfied with that destiny. She’s clearly never felt more secure and convicted in her artistic wheelhouse, and it shows in the high-quality singing and songwriting she demonstrates throughout this record. But it unquestionably deserves to capture a wider audience. It’s a colorful, confident, and satisfying effort that will easily rank as one of the best kept secrets among modern pop albums released this year.
Track Listing:
- “Lemonade” (Maren Morris, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi, Isaiah Tejada)
- “People Still Show Up” (Morris, Jack Antonoff, Laura Veltz)
- “Cry in the Car” (Morris, Tobias Jesso Jr., Josette Maskin, Naomi McPherson)
- “Cut!” featuring Julia Michaels (Morris, Julia Michaels, Caroline Ailin, Joel Little)
- “Bed No Breakfast” (Morris, Delacey J. Johnson, John Ryan)
- “Dreamiscle” (Morris)
- “I Hope I Never Fall In Love” (Morris, Evan Blair, Delacey, Lucy Healey)
- “Too Good” (Morris, Jesso, Little)
- “Push Me Over” (Morris, Catherine Gavin, Jesso, Maskin, McPherson)
- “Because, Of Course” (Morris, Mike Elizondo, Pollack, Veltz)
- “Grand Bouquet” (Morris, Antonoff, Veltz)
- “This Is How A Woman Leaves” (Morris, Sarah Buxton, Madi Diaz)
- “Carry Me Through” (Morris, Greg Kurstin)
- “Holy Smoke” (Morris, Antonoff, Veltz)
The 706 
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