Morgan Wallen has lots to say on his third album, One Thing at a Time, and it’s almost all fermented in alcohol. If albums came with an alcohol content warning, the 36-track One Thing would easily register 180 proof. Though that’s no surprise, given the undeniable success Wallen has experienced referenced drinking in his previous two albums, when listening to One Thing in one take, the constant liquor references start to blur into each other, aided by the plethora of similar-sounding mid-tempo tracks. How many ways can Wallen try to dull the pain of heartache with alcohol? It turns out the answer is infinite.
Speaking of proofs, the Joey Moi-produced One Thing at a Time has already entered the record books via its lead single, “You Proof,” which became the first 10-week No. 1 in the history of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. With Wallen’s previous set, Dangerous: The Double Album, still sitting in the top 5 of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart in its 111th week of release, his fans show no sign of fatigue.
When Wallen announced the new set, out on Big Loud/Mercury/Republic today (March 3), he said the songs represent the last few years of his life and drew upon the three musical genres that have influenced him the most — country, alternative and hip-hop. While there are traces of the latter two on the album (including “180 (Lifestyle),” which interpolates Rich Gang’s 2014 rap smash, “Lifestyle”), most of the set falls squarely in the contemporary country pocket that has made Wallen the genre’s biggest star of the past five years.
Wallen co-wrote 14 of the tracks, but makes even the 22 compositions he didn’t write his own. Vocally, he sounds more assured than ever before, letting his twangy voice slip and slide over the melodies. For devout Wallen fans, too much of a good thing can just be wonderful. For the rest, best to take the album in smaller bites.
Below are our recommendations for the best 10 tracks on One Thing, listed in order of their appearance on the album.
