Three years after his first album, country star Morgan Wallen has done it again, filling his newest album, Dangerous: The Double Album, with thirty incredible pieces. 

On Jan. 8, 2021, Wallen shocked the world by releasing 23 new tracks, the other six having been released already. Although Wallen had given us a sneak peek of the album in late November with three singles, “Somebody’s Problem,” “Still Goin Down,” and “Livin’ The Dream,” and he decided to add his other tremendous tracks “Cover Me Up,” “7 Summers,” and “More Than My Hometown” to the album. 

Among Wallen’s previous songs, it is known that every piece holds a message. Not only does the entirety of the album relate to his personal life, but the songs included also relate to the listener. Throughout Dangerous: The Double Album, Wallen does a phenomenal job of continuing to present new messages. 

I was blown away by how every song was contrived. This collection of tunes filled me with mournful and elated feelings while having a happy medium of upbeat and slow tempos included. 

Out of all thirty songs, “Sand In My Boots” captured me instantly. While listening to the gradual and low-key tempo, I took notice of the different instrument that was being played—this time, Wallen’s unique sounds were coming from a piano, not a guitar, and every note that was hit made me want to get up and slow dance with the love of my life. 

Even though the song vocalizes a story of an anonymous girl that Wallen meets, he realizes that, as their connection grows, he finds himself only bringing back the sand in his boots that he’s collected along the way and not the girl. 

Despite the heartbreaking outcome, this elegant piece somehow managed to make me feel delighted yet serene. 

As if to add depth to the piece, Wallen was given the lyrics of “Sand In My Boots” on his birthday from a friend, and he felt the song connected with him substantially. Along with this, Wallen wanted to incorporate the piano within his songs and this track allowed him to do exactly that. 

While listening to more songs on the album, I stumbled upon another captivating song, “865.” This track holds a calm and steady beat that is similar to “Sand In My Boots.” The three digits “865” are an important area code to Wallen as it reminds him of home along with other places that are special to him. 

Even though the name of the song “865” is completely different from the storyline, it continues to display the hardships of love he faces of not being able to get this anonymous girl out of his head. Wallen vocalizes this by saying, “Yeah, the second that I take a sip all I’m gonna think is this bottle tastes like 865 (409-1021).” This is implying that the phone number is the anonymous girl’s, and, no matter what he does to forget about her, he is constantly reminded of her. 

These two awe-inspiring pieces have one thing in common and that is they both display the authentic side of relationships, how not all love stories are fairy tales.

On the other hand, songs like “Dangerous” and “Warning” tend to have more of an upbeat tempo compared to the two previously mentioned songs. Throughout the track “Dangerous,” Wallen talks about a similar concept that he points out in other pieces as well: a girl he can’t stop thinking about. However, “Warning” has an unexpected twist and is nothing like the other songs.  

While this song shows a different viewpoint of the challenges faced during a relationship, Wallen wishes that this anonymous girl would have come with a warning before he met her. He vocalizes this by saying, “When she sat down in that ADPI t-shirt should’ve said, ‘Watch out.’” Wallen also brings up several other instances, wishing he had more warning throughout the rest of the song. 

All in all, these two songs hold a lively upbeat pace; however, “Dangerous” is a little more fit for something to dance to. Not only does this song have similarities to “865” but it also talks about how Wallen does not want to keep trying to have a relationship with the same girl because he feels that he will only hurt her again.

Even though it is agonizing, the tune makes it less depressing. 

Over time, Wallen has grown exponentially as a singer, and I am thrilled that he is stepping out of his comfort zone and bringing new instruments into his music such as the piano.

Dangerous: The Double Album is unquestionably Wallen’s best album as it holds many emotions yet does a tremendous job at expressing them in a way that others can connect with. On top of that, it has a wide range of moods, making it less tedious, something I cannot complain about. 

The release of this album is exactly what I needed at the beginning of my new year. With that being said, Wallen only made my standards higher for what the country’s industry has to offer in the upcoming months.