New Release: Little Wide Open by Kevin Morby (Dead Oceans)

Kevin Morby was born in Lubbock but grew up near Kansas City. His roots run deep, and the singer-songwriter often cites Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, and Nina Simone as influences. There is definitely a Dylanesque edge to his music, but it remains subtle; this is unmistakably Morby on a terrific slice of mid-American pie.

Inspired by the Malick film and the Springsteen tune, “Badlands” opens the album with “Welcome to the Midwest / Where the sky knows best / And you’ll finally get some rest / ’Til the tornado sirens start harmonizing,” instantly taking me back to tornado warnings from my own Missouri childhood. That tornado “siren” heard on the track is the heavenly voice of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

Produced by Aaron Dessner of The National, Little Wide Open feels like Morby’s breakout release, filled with deeply personal songs from the folk-rock artist.

“Die Young” wrestles with mortality and aging. The 38-year-old Morby tends to reassess life regularly, once saying, “So I feel like every new year, I get more invested in my mental and physical health, which is a good thing.” It’s not the kind of self-reflection often associated with rock stars. The album’s first single, “Javelin,” is supremely hummable and serves as another ode to the oft-ignored flyover region of the country: “Towards this old cowtown in the Bible Belt / Remember when they asked us, baby, just how it felt / To be alone in the middle of Middle America?” It feels good.

One of Morby’s “north stars,” Lucinda Williams, appears on “Natural Disaster.” Singing just one verse, her presence brings soul and reverence to the track. The album’s emotional weight feels rooted in Morby’s upbringing, his love for introspective songwriting, and perhaps even his approaching fatherhood alongside partner Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee.

I sat up at attention while reading through the tracklist after mistakenly reading “100,000” as “1,000,000,” the early R.E.M. song. I rushed straight to it. Even after realizing I had added an extra zero, the brilliant track, inspired by Tom Verlaine and Television, immediately pulled me in. Written with longtime collaborator and former bandmate Meg Duffy (Perfume Genius, Hand Habits), the song vividly captures Midwestern good ol’ boys working on their cars with shirts off. The Master of Puppets reference comes from Morby imagining them blasting Metallica while getting greasy.

The album cover beautifully resembles a Kansas sunflower field. It feels like home. Another obvious influence on Morby is Tom Petty – especially the echoes of Wildflowers and Into the Great Wide Open. Both artists share a deeply human quality in their songwriting, along with an understated approach that naturally connects with listeners. “Cowtown” and “Bible Belt” have long carried negative connotations for Kansas City and the Midwest, but Morby transforms them into something beautiful.

Little Wide Open conjures hot summer days and deep breaths of fresh countryside air. The dreamy wonder of “Junebugs” wraps the listener in a meditative embrace, while “Dandelion” paints a picture of “Running through fields of gold / Acting young but feeling old.” As the album drifts toward its close, Morby sings, “The paint’s stained on the Econoline / From the black blood of the butterflies,” once again searching for answers about life, death, and purpose on “Field Guide for the Butterflies.”

The singer shared that Little Wide Open completes the trilogy that began with Sundowner and This Is a Photograph over the past four years. Check out Morby’s current tour dates on his official website and buy his music at Bandcamp.

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