Dangerous: The Double Album

Morgan Wallen knows releasing a double album as your second record is a bit of a flex. That's why he emphasized the length of his sophomore set, calling it Dangerous: The Double Album instead of just Dangerous: the size is part of the point. Weighing in at a hefty 30 songs -- each album runs 15 songs, some clocking in at under three minutes but none feeling like afterthoughts -- Dangerous: The Double Album gives Wallen plenty of space to expand upon the slick pleasures of his 2018 debut, If I Know Me. There, he sounded a bit like Florida Georgia Line's younger brother, a singer out for a good time but sharp enough to know to lean into the romantic side of the country-pop equation. Dangerous: The Double Album has its share of smooth romance and party tunes, yet they're just a facet of a record that quietly touches on everything that could be called country in 2021. Wallen collaborated with such Nashville mainstays as Shane McAnally and Rodney Clawson, sings a song co-credited to the glossy loverman Thomas Rhett, covers Americana icon Jason Isbell ("Cover Me Up"), then pulls the entire album into focus by closing it with "Quittin' Time," a song co-written by Eric Church. That's not the only moment that explicitly conjures the spirit of Church: the entire record has a lean, neo-classicist vibe, splitting the difference between old-fashioned country and modern sounds, while the album art echoes Mr. Misunderstood. Wallen isn't quite the maverick that Church is. He's firmly within the mainstream, relying on ballads and never shying away from R&B rhythms or electronic flair. Rather than dedicating himself entirely to these contemporary sounds, he weaves them between harder country and softer pop, the styles cohering due to Wallen's easy charisma. He never pushes too hard, yet he has a light touch, so he sounds as comfortable sliding into a wall of digital sound as he does singing with just an acoustic guitar or two. This gift justifies the considerable length of Dangerous: The Double Album as all the sheer variety proves Wallen can indeed convincingly sing just about any modern country style. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine