De stem en de authenticiteit, twee kenmerken waarvoor ik viel toen ik Morgan Wade voor het eerst hoorde. Beide zijn nog steeds, ondanks het instant succes van haar debuut Reckless, haar grootste troeven. Wanneer je de foto onderaan bekijkt, dan zou je denken "Damn, ze hebben er een poppetje van gemaakt en haar songs zullen nu ook wel helemaal 'plastic' klinken." No worries peez, ook al zijn haar nummers gesneden koek voor 'country radio', m.a.w. zo commercieel als wat, Wade is én blijft doodeerlijk, oprecht en echt. Zo ook deze Psychopath, een love song en hélemaal country.
Psychopath verschijnt op 25 augustus 2023 via Ladylike Records / Sony Music.
Luister ook naar: Psychopath (studio version)
Morgan Wade is ready to raise the curtain. Currently situated as one of Nashville’s fastest rising and most critically acclaimed young stars, hailed by some of the world’s most respected publications, from Rolling Stone to New York Times, as a once-in-a-generation talent, thanks in great effect to Reckless, her stunning 2021 Thirty Tigers/now Sony Music Nashville debut album, the now 28-year-old -- the same person who not long ago felt as if she “didn’t have anything,” -- now finds herself eager and ready to reveal herself to her ever-growing legion of dedicated fans like never before. To hear Wade tell it, it’s time to peel back layers of her psyche and let people in.
“I realized the more authentic you are and the more you pour yourself into your songs, and most importantly if you’re being honest, people will connect to that,” Wade explains of her highly personal motivation when crafting Psychopath, her second full-length studio album, due on Aug. 25 via Sony Music Nashville and a no-holds-barred meditation of an LP that dives deep into life’s oft-twisted path to the present. “I want every song to get the credit it deserves.”
On the heels of a multi-month headline tour, one that saw emotionally invested sellout crowds hanging on Wade’s every lyric, not to mention a thrilling performance at Stagecoach, Wade now delivers an astounding 13-track LP crafted with the help of some of Nashville’s most extraordinary musical talents, from A-list songwriters (Julia Michaels, Natalie Hemby, Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, Ashley Monroe, Angaleena Presley) to studio musicians and, of course, her longtime producer-guru/song whisperer Sadler Vaden.
A relentless writer, Wade had penned what would become the album’s exquisite title track and lead single as far back as the weeks leading up to Reckless’ release. A one-take meditation on “being so engrossed in someone, it’s like “What the hell was I doing before I met you? I don’t even fucking know!” Wade describes “Psychopath” as “probably as close to a country song as it gets on the record.” Don’t let the title fool you: “When you look at the title, you don’t assume that’s a love song. But it is,” she says with a smile. “I kinda dig that.”
It’s easy to lose sight of how Wade’s life has shifted in only a few short years. And yet even as an unsigned upstart singer-songwriter from Floyd, Virginia, back when her singular goal was to book that next live show, when she was just waiting for that one opportunity to showcase her musical wares to the world, Wade already had it all.
Morgan Wade’s abilities have long been undeniable: that raw and unflinching voice anchored by a perfect tinge of twang; the rare ability to pen honest portraits of some of life’s most precious and painful and unpredictable moments; an onstage vulnerability that so seamlessly breaks down the wall between fan and artist.
With the success of Reckless, Wade openly admits she felt a certain pressure leading into Psychopath, not least because Reckless had exceeded even her wildest expectations. “If my debut record wouldn’t have done anything, then it wouldn’t have mattered,” she says. “I would have just gone back to the drawing board and continued. But now, there was a lot of pressure to get this next record out.”
Despite wanting to share new music with her fans as quickly as possible, Wade says she tried her best not to internalize the outside pressures when penning her new material over the past two years. It was principally important, she says, that she stay true to the songs and not let the fear of being vulnerable hold her back. In due time, the songs started coming fast and furious. Wade realized she was penning some of her most forthright and honest material yet. ...
