‘Intermission’ embraces singer’s sexual liberation
Since her 2022 album “Humble Quest,” Maren Morris has gone through an avalanche of feelings.
Last fall she announced a split from her country singer husband Ryan Hurd after five years of marriage. She and Hurd, who share a son, finalized the divorce in January.
In June, she celebrated Pride Month by coming out as bisexual with a simple Instagram post captioned “happy to be the B in LGBTQ+”.
Her progressive views have turned her into a lighting rod for the country music industry’s conservative stalwarts. She’s feuded with Brittany Aldean, wife of singer Jason Aldean, since 2022 over Aldean’s transphobic comments on social media and in interviews. Last November, Morris said she was leaving behind the “toxic parts” of country music and taking a new approach to her craft.
On Friday, Morris, 34, released the EP “Intermission,” five intensely personal songs that canvass her emotions about love, sex and motherhood.
She’s also currently on her RSVP Redux tour, a redo of the RSVP shows she canceled in late 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The “fan-led” outing, which goes through early October, has a different setlist at each concert, with much of it chosen from fan submissions.
But both are only appetizers to what Morris has planned for the next year. In a chat this week from the road, the candid country-pop singer delved into the heartbreak and liberation in her new songs, why she’s supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, and why she always wants “to move the goal posts.”
Question: On this EP you have a great line in “Cut!” – “Every good show just needs an intermission.” Is that how you’re looking at this part of your life?
Answer: Yeah, I think I have been in and out of an intermission because I haven’t put a record out in a couple of years and have gone through a lot of changes in my life. Doing this warmup tour this summer has been really fun, and I’m still writing. I’ve never written while touring, so I feel like I get to process my experiences and emotions in real time.
Are these songs designed to be listened to in order, as a journey? You start with “I Hope I Never Fall in Love” but by “Because, of Course,” it sounds like you’re ready to be someone’s rock.
Honestly, “Because, of Course” I wrote about my son (Hayes, 4), so it was from a motherly lens, like, “of course I’m going to love you.” When people have heard that song, they’ve said it could be a love song, so I like that it’s ambiguous in a way. It could be about any loved one in your life.
When you sing “I Hope I Never Fall in Love,” do you mean that, or is the song a product of a moment in time?
I mean it today. I vacillate between, “I’m good, I’m going to be single forever and have some fun flings and call it a day,” and other days I’m wistful, like, “Maybe it will happen again.” When it was written, I was in the throes of such deep heartbreak and failure personally, and it felt like such a brush off, “Maybe I’ll take you home with me, but getting into the feelings ocean again? No, I’m good!”
Was writing the sexually direct “Push Me Over” liberating?
Writing it with Tobias (Jesso Jr.) and MUNA (Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, Naomi McPherson) was so effortless. I came in with this broken chorus for it, and it became this anthem of sexual curiosity that I never would have had the courage to write six months ago. I’m in a stage where I’ve been through some really painful changes, and now there’s nothing that really scares me anymore. I don’t have to worry about any person to hurt; I’m not trying to protect anyone. I’m only worried about my own lens, which is really liberating.
There are still people out there who want to goad you into debates, whether political in general or the politics of country music. At some point does it just become exhausting?
Yeah. I’ve learned I don’t have to make every thought of mine public. Absolutely you should be loud and supportive, especially living in states like Texas or Tennessee, like I do. Just existing there is political. Even doing music at this point is political because you’re sharing an opinion publicly. I pay a lot in taxes, and I’m a staple in Nashville and am having my son grow up there, so I should have a say. But I do think there is some value in knowing that not everything is your fight. You don’t always have to be the megaphone.
Do you plan to get involved with the upcoming presidential election?
I’ll definitely support Kamala any way I can. I campaigned for (President Joe) Biden and have met Kamala . ... I feel invigorated to vote. Living in Tennessee, it feels more impactful to have that say.
Let’s talk about this tour. I love that you’re covering Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself.” Why did you choose that song?
Earlier this year, I did a campaign for the company Visible and I had to pick a song I loved. That song felt like a challenge because it’s so known. Any time I do a cover, I can’t do a carbon copy because I can’t beat the original, so how can I make it my own? We recorded it for this campaign, and it was so fun that we added it to the setlist. It’s a nice notmodern song, but everybody knows it.
“I’m in a stage where I’ve been through some really painful changes, and now there’s nothing that really scares me anymore. I don’t have to worry about any person to hurt; I’m not trying to protect anyone. I’m only worried about my own lens, which is really liberating.”
Maren Morris