Maren Morris

One Liner: Chameleonic "country" with one great song called "My Church"

Poster Position: 19

Thoughts:  She's a Dallas girl with a few self-released albums and some songwriting credits under her belt, but only one album available on Spotify right now, 2016's HERO.  Her current most popular song, "80s Mercedes," is a poppy, auto-tuned thing that, despite myself, I just found myself kind of toe tapping along with.  But her big hit, with over 20.4 million streams, is a pretty darned good track tying church to listening to music in your car.  I like this one, called "My Church."

Excellent song.  I like the sound, the imagery, the tunefulness, and her voice a lot. However, I'll admit that the rest of the album leaves me less excited.  The tunes span too wide of a sound, leaving me unsure if I'm listening to Rhianna ("Sugar" or "How It's Done"), Jessica Simpson ("80s Mercedes"), Sheryl Crow ("I Wish I Was"), Kelly Clarkson ("Second Wind") or Kacey Musgraves ("My Church") at any given time.  And then there's "Rich," which reminds me of Lorde, except it ain't funny like "Royals" was.  I can't say I care for the rest of the album as much as I do the hit.  But here is that "80s Mercedes" track for your edification.

Catchy, even if the sound is what I dislike about the new-school world of Nashville.  I doubt I'd go see her in the fall, but I like "My Church" enough to consider it.  And I doubt she'll bring drum machines and auto-tuners when she's here for the big show, so maybe you'll get to see a more real and stripped down version of these tunes.