For her fourth album, Maren Morris is entering uncharted territory.
The Arlington native pointedly broke with the country music genre two years ago — telling the Los Angeles Times she’d “said everything she could say” there — and released an EP titled The Bridge.
She followed that two-track effort with another EP, Intermission, released late last year, after moonlighting as a children’s book author, and being nominated for a Golden Globe for her musical contribution to the animated film The Wild Robot.
Now comes news of Morris’s fourth studio album, the more pop-oriented Dreamsicle, which will arrive May 9.
The 14-track project was produced by Greg Kurstin and Jack Antonoff, two of modern pop music’s more high-profile talents. Dreamsicle will also mark her first substantial release since divorcing from her husband, Ryan Hurd, in early 2024, and coming out as bisexual last summer.
“My fourth studio album … takes place in the aftermath of loosening my grip on my personal and professional life,” Morris said in a statement. “Sweeping through the pits of grief, but never staying too long, and finding the joy in knowing that at my core, I’m still who I am — and that’s pretty [expletive] great.”
You can hear the lead single, “Carry Me Through,” below.
“This was written in early 2023 before a lot of things went down,” Morris said in a statement. “I really do think sometimes songs are premonitions. I wanted to address some anxieties I was having but also give myself some peace by saying ‘It’s not all on you right now. Lean on safe people.’ Listening to it brings me a little bit of peace, and I hope it does the same for others out there.”
Lest anyone expect a raw, score-settling post-divorce record from Morris, she told People magazine at the 2025 GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles that Dreamsicle wouldn’t be an exercise in tearing anyone down.
“I feel like if it doesn’t feel like a risk, it’s probably not worth doing, so I tried to leave enough on the bone to satisfy my healing,” Morris told People on March 27. “But also I’m not here to make a villain out of anyone or a hero out of myself. We all have both inside of us, so I just wanted to tell whatever would heal my heart. So that’s my aim here.”
Although Morris has yet to announce any 2025 tour dates, those will likely arrive closer to the album’s release next month. Her last North Texas appearance was three years ago, at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at preston@kxt.org or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
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