Following a turbulent year, Morgan Evans returns today with his new EP – Life Upside Down.
After a turbulent year, in the wake of the announcement of his divorce to Kelsea Ballerini this summer, Morgan Evans has returned – not with a despondent or bitter statement on his breakup – but a joyfully hopeful and optimistic collection of his songs, on his Life Upside Down EP, out everywhere today. The collection of songs offers a picture of where Evans is right now, both personally and musically, as he sings ‘it’s all coming up daisies’ this project is proof of that.
When Evans stepped onto the stage at C2C, there was something electric in his performances. That energy has sometimes been lacking when he translates his live set into the studio iterations of his tracks, until this EP. Across these four songs (and another live version), he infuses the energy of a live set into the recorded versions – from the spellbinding nature of the moments of connection he finds with the crowd (‘Over For You’) to the easy breezy, foot-stomping electricity of the party anthems (‘Hey Little Mama’ and ‘All Right Here’). The EP kicks off with ‘Over For You,’ a stunningly tender track that questions his ex-lover on when their love was over for her, questioning, ‘I’m just wondering, how long has it been over for you?’ More than anything, the track feels immensely loving, before moving on to ‘On My Own Again,’ where Evans questions how he got back to this stage in his life, but looks hopefully to the future. ‘I’m gonna drive until the wheels fall off this old truck in my heart / If forever’s gonna end like that, I guess I’d better start / The rest of my life, like the best times, up around the bend.’
The following two tracks on the EP are more easy and breezy, following on from this relatively hurt place. ‘Hey Little Mama’ is flirty and fun, whereas ‘All Right Here’ outlines ‘it’s all good, all gravy.’ More than anything, the EP is pure delight and charm, laying the stage for a new era in Evan’s music, and that era feels immensely hopeful and optimistic.
