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Two acoustic guitars and Morgan Wade’s distinctive, gorgeous voice were all that was needed to bring the Royal Albert Hall to its knees at the Highways Festival over the weekend.
The young Virginian exploded onto the country scene in 2021 with her debut album, Reckless, which shot straight to number two in Billboard’s US Heatseekers chart, and number eight in the US Folk chart upon release. Since then, she has only grown in popularity by the day, with just under 2 million Spotify listeners (and counting) per month.
Earlier this month, Morgan announced her second album, Psychopath, which is due to hit store shelves on August 25, 2023. However, things are very different for the 28-year-old a few years after her debut record set the scene on fire.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk backstage at the Royal Albert Hall, Morgan serenely confessed: “When I recorded Reckless and I put that out, I didn’t have anything to lose. It was a debut album and it was like, it’s either going to do somethin’ or it’s not.
“So now, putting out record number two… there is a lot more pressure.”
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You’d be forgiven for not believing that Morgan is feeling any kind of pressure, though. Especially after seeing her casually stroll onto the Royal Albert Hall’s stage in front of more than 5,000 people and fire off soaring vocal trills like a country facsimile of Hayley Williams.
But she almost certainly does worry about these things. After listening to Reckless, it is obvious that Morgan is a deeply introspective person, so it’s no wonder she is already feeling somewhat self-conscious about the release of her second album.
She probably doesn’t need to worry, though.
“I had maybe two weeks off before we went to the studio to record [Psychopath],” Morgan explained. “And I was really rested up vocally. And basically, when I went in I got just about every song [done]. The band would play and I would come in to sing scratch tracks – and we were able to use most of all of those; I didn’t really have to re-sing anything.”
Morgan was so prepared and focused with her pristine one-take performances that she had an entire day in the studio left over, she told me. “It all went very smooth!” she smiled.
Content-wise, things are going to change a little bit in Psychopath – but not so much that Morgan’s fans will feel abandoned.
Reckless is a gorgeous, bleeding-heart memoir on love, regret, addiction, and tormenting yourself. Every lyric and breathy utterance feels like it comes directly from Morgan’s life lessons. And Psychopath will follow this blueprint – but not to the letter.
“It’s definitely different,” Morgan crooned about her second album. “But not crazy-different from Reckless. I think it’s a good progression. It’s not the same – you don’t wanna keep putting out the same product – but it’s not so far in the left field. It’s a continuation in a good way.”
And she’s still pulling from her personal experiences: “There’s one song [on Psychopath] called ‘Losers Like Me’ that talks about growing up and all the things my friends are doing.
“They’re settling down and doing all that – and then there’s me. I’m not doing those things. I’m out doing different stuff, but I think I’m just hitting that age where I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’ That kind of thing.”
Reckless lived and died by the powerful, heartbreaking emotions Morgan translated from her life and experiences into her music, but Psychopath will have new insights into how things are going with her.
“There’s parts of [the album] that are optimistic and happy,” she hesitated, referencing the hope-filled title track.
However, she hastened to add: “But I’ve still got the sad s**t on there – I can’t act like I don’t.”
Morgan Wade – Psychopath comes out on August 25, 2023.
