To pop fans, the name Maren Morris first brings to mind her collaboration with Zedd and Grey in “The Middle,” which topped Billboard’s Pop Songs radio airplay chart on April 7, 2018. However, before blowing everybody’s minds with her vocals in “The Middle,” Morris took the country music world by storm with songs such as “My Church,” “I Could Use a Love Song,” and “Craving You” with fellow country star Thomas Rhett. On March 8, she made a return to the genre with the release of her latest album, “GIRL”.

I was born and raised on country music, and ever since I first heard “My Church,” I’ve been a huge fan of Morris. Naturally, I waited several weeks in anticipation of this new album and spent an hour listening to the new album in one sitting the day it came out. I can thankfully say that Morris has yet to disappoint with her music.

The title song, “GIRL”, was a little surprising to me. It sounded a lot more electric than the country-style Morris I was used to. However, the same could be said for the entire album, which was overall a diversion from the normal acoustic guitar-based sound of classic country songs. I didn’t mind the new sound – I actually found it to be a nice balance to those classic-sounding songs such as “A Song for Everything” and “Great Ones.”

I was happy to see that Morris hasn’t lost her touch in writing powerful lyrics that speak to experiences that many of us can relate to. For example, A Song For Everything,” as the name implies, talks about how there is indeed a song for situation and how you associate songs with the event occurring when you first heard them. This is certainly a relatable feeling for me. In “Gold Love” and “To Hell and Back,” Morris sings about a lover that accepts her flaws more than she accepts them herself, and how it’s strange how they can love her that way. While some of us may not be lucky enough to have someone that loves us that way, we definitely know what it feels like to want someone like that.

None of the songs completely turned me off, but there was one song that I thought could’ve been better executed. I interpreted the message of “RSVP” as Morris trying to get a certain boy to come over to her house that night, but the invitation was sent in a more sensual form. I didn’t find that extremely appealing, but I did appreciate the slower music that fit the message. Even though the lyrics weren’t my style, I paid more attention to the music itself, which I thought was well-done, like most of the music in this album.

In general, I’d say that Morris has made a successful return to the country music genre. The catchy lyrics and varying musical styles in this album are bound to have me listening again and again. GIRL has certainly pleased me, and I can’t wait to see how Morris’ new songs rank in the next couple weeks.