Morgan Wallen, country’s biggest star and one of the biggest stars in the music world right now, has built his success on super-serving his audience, and his new album, I’m the Problem, is no different. The set, out today, has 37 tracks, besting its predecessor, 2023’s One Thing at a Time by one song and 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album by seven tracks.
As on his past albums, Wallen is still looking for love in all the wrong places, with the majority of the songs serving as midtempo explorations on heartache, longing, co-dependence and missed chances, often while drowning his sorrows. When it comes to love, Wallen (or the songs’ protagonists) admits many of the wounds are self-inflicted and he just can’t get out of his own way.
His willingness to expose his vulnerability is one of the album’s top selling points, as is Wallen’s voice. He’s in fine shape here especially when his twang is matched with a Southern rock-leaning tune, such as on “Workin’ Man’s Song,” where he gives Travis Tritt a run for his money. Similarly, on songs like “I’m a Little Crazy” or “The Dealer,” where he’s examining broader issues than romance, he shows an appealing range.
When there are so many songs, it’s inevitable that some of them sound similar, and that’s not helped by too much reliance on a Roland TR-808 beat and a midtempo sway that renders some of the tracks virtually indistinguishable from each other. Putting out so many songs at once has proven a winning gambit for Wallen with his fans and with the charts, but this album could have lost at least 12 songs for a tighter, less repetitive sound.
Wallen co-wrote 22 songs on the project, which, like his past projects, is helmed by producer Joie Moi, with help from Charlie Handsome and Jacob Durrett. He gets some help from his friends, some old — like Eric Church, Post Malone, HARDY and ERNEST — and some new, like Tate McRae.
The album’s success is a foregone conclusion, given that it’s already spawned three Country Airplay No. 1s with “Lies, Lies, Lies,” “Love Somebody” and “I’m the Problem,” and there seems to be no saturation point when it comes to his fans lapping up his songs.
There’s plenty to enjoy here. Below is an early take on our ranking of the songs on the highly anticipated set.
