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The next great female storyteller and self-proclaimed "emo cowgirl" of country music has emerged, and her name is Megan Moroney. She's inadvertently changing the genre by inserting honesty and integrity back into the country which arguably hasn't been seen since the early days of Taylor Swift. Maroney's sophomore album Am I Okay?, released July 12 on Sony Music, exemplifies the power of wearing your heart on your sleeve through heartbreak. Leaning on the rich raspiness of her mild twang to emphasize the emotionality of her lyrics and the authenticity of the lyricism and instrumentation of every track on her album, Maroney is undeniably the future of country music.
Stand out tracks: "Am I Okay?" "Man on the Moon" "Miss Universe" "The Girls"
My favorites: "No Caller ID" "28th of June" "Indifferent" "Hope You're Happy"
The album opens with its stellar title track 'Am I Okay?' which sees Maroney realizing that the relationship she's found doesn't have her saying "Oh hell no/No way," but rather is allowing her to avoid writing a "sad song soundtrack." Backed by a rich and nostalgic guitar-led instrumentation, Megan's illustrious and unique vocal quality shines through as she proclaims, "I think I'm really happy/I think I wanna stay/Oh my god/Am I okay?" Megan's lucky streak continues into 'Third Times the Charm.' Seemingly against her better judgment, she rekindles a relationship that has failed her in the past, but this time it "put a brand new kind of wind back in my sails/Took my heart off of the shelf."
Have no fear, the emo cowgirl isn't gone forever - 'No Caller ID' is proof of that. One of Maroney's lyrical and vocal high points on Am I Okay?, the track is sufficiently scathing while she laments repeatedly letting her heart get broken by the same old games. The track builds to its powerful bridge where she's left asking "Don't you get tired of hurtin' me?/I'm tired of hurtin' me." Where 'No Caller ID' leaves off, she picks back up with even deeper heartbreak on '28th of June;' illustrating the ever-so-human feeling of the hurt of knowing an anniversary is no longer anything but a regular day: "Another 365 have come and gone/Today would've been a day that we'd celebrate/And now it's just another Tuesday." This is the closest track in years that comes close to the tangible emotion felt in early 2000s tracks like Taylor Swift's 'Time McGraw' and Carrie Underwood's 'You Won't Find This.'
Megan abandons all restraint going into should-be radio hit 'Man on the Moon.' With the classic references to NASA, space, "out of this world", rockets - all those fun little metaphorical lyrical games - Megan Moroney hits the nail on the head with a song-of-the-summer-tinged country-girl power anthem. And while 'Man on the Man' is the most fun version of Moroney, 'Miss Universe' is the track from Am I Okay? that you turn on if you just really need to hate your ex's new fling. Yet again tapping into the themed imagery, this time of glitz and glamor, Moroney powers through a bass-heavy pounder that's full of shamelessly raging lyricism: "At least it wasn't a county pageant I lost that boy to/But I want runner-up roses, want the sash for second place."
The hidden gems of Am I Okay? linger in the tracks that don't even touch upon romantic love; 'The Girls' is the song that's meant to be sung driving with the windows down with your best friend, listened to at sunset with your mom, in a stadium with your sister. 'Heaven by Noon' is the love song to those we wish we'd had a little more time with before they're gone. And she toes the line between all types of love lost with stunningly sincere 'I Hope You're Happy,' where Megan croons "I hope you finally make your way to California/I hope you find someone that loves you like I do...I hope you're happy/And I hope I never know."
Our beloved emo cowgirl closes Am I Okay? with the ultimate show of love for the people who have given her the life she's dreamed of, rather than the loves who have torn her down: "Keep it together, I can keep it together/For the room full of people here who love me better/Than he could've, or would've and should've, I know." With her star power, love for her supporters, and a sophomore album like Am I Okay?, Megan Moroney's career is looking like it will be more than just okay, it will be exceptional.
AM I OBSESSED?
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