Cloud 9

カントリー界のスーパースター=Megan Moroney(メーガン・モロニー)3rdアルバム『Cloud 9』

ジョージア州出身のカントリー・シンガー兼ソングライター=Megan Moroney(メーガン・モロニー)。2022年にシングル「Tennessee Orange」がチャートインし注目を集め、翌年デビューアルバム『Lucky』をリリースし、ビルボードトップ40にランクインするヒット。続くセカンドアルバム『Am I Okay?』でもビルボード初登場9位と大ヒットを記録。彼女にとって初のトップ10入りを果たした。本作は、カントリー界のスーパースターである彼女にとって3枚目のスタジオ・アルバムとなる『Cloud 9』。ビルボード・ホット100で大ヒットを記録した「6 Months Later」と、ヒットバラード「Beautiful Things」を収録。前作からの勢いそのままにリリースされる期待のニューアルバム。

In an era when country music is often indistinguishable from the slick, dance sound of mainstream pop, any semblance of unfiltered sentiment or raspy vocal twang feels like a welcome throwback. On her third album, 2026s Cloud 9, Megan Moroney brings all that and more, crafting immediately hummable, emotionally engaging songs that spin off her lips with a sweet charisma. Its a vibe she underscores throughout, as in the wry post-breakup anthem where she turns down an ex trying to win her back, singing "What doesnt kill you makes you stronger and blonder and hotter." The line could easily work as the albums mantra as Moroney continually rebuffs unfaithful lovers, whether she finds them leaving her messages on "read" as in "Stupid," catches them "liking" another girls half-naked pictures online as in "Change of Heart," or simply, giving them a taste of their own casual heartbreak as she does, wearing a short black dress and all to the club in "Medicine." Although relationships are Moroneys main focus on Cloud 9, she always comes off as empowered and more than a little self-aware. She even dissects the contrary expectations put on her as a woman in the public eye, or "just a wide-eyed girl learning the ropes," as she describes herself in "Liars, Tigers & Bears." Musically, shes backed up with a warm, analog swagger by producer Kristian Bush who frames her relaxed, sweet whisky vocals with a balance of sparkling electric and acoustic guitars, piano, the occasional synth, and, as in her two spotlight duets with Kacey Musgraves ("Bells and Whistles") and Ed Sheeran ("I Only Miss You"), just the right amount of old-school, Nashville pedal steel guitar. While theres a sense that Moroney is well aware of her pop star status, on Cloud 9 her music soars, but her heart and her charm are as grounded and relatable as ever. ~ Matt Collar