Little Wide Open

Little Wide Open
Studio album by
Kevin Morby
ReleasedMay 15, 2026 (2026-05-15)
Length59:16
LabelDead Oceans
ProducerAaron Dessner
Kevin Morby chronology
More Photographs (A Continuum)
(2023) 		Little Wide Open
(2026)
Singles from Little Wide Open
  1. "Javelin"
    Released: February 11, 2026
  2. "Die Young"
    Released: March 11, 2026
  3. "Badlands"
    Released: April 16, 2026

Little Wide Open is the eighth studio album by American indie rock musician Kevin Morby, released on May 15, 2026, on Dead Oceans.[1][2][3]

Background

Aaron Dessner asked Morby to support his band The National on July 4, 2024, at their outdoor London show at Crystal Palace Bowl. Shortly after, Dessner contacted Morby to let him know he would be interested in producing his next album.[4] In early 2025, the pair began recording Morby's eighth studio album at Dessner's Long Pond Studio, a secluded, rustic cabin in the Hudson Valley, New York. The pair finished recording in September 2025.[4]

The album's lyrics were influenced by Morby's life in the Midwest: "There’s something unintentionally musical about the Midwest; cicadas chirping in the trees, a train passing, a tornado siren going off. If you listen, there are these almost ominous sounds taking place beneath the wide-open sky —its ugliness and its beauty and how the two are often working together simultaneously. And while the Midwest isn’t technically the badlands, it’s my badlands."[4]

Release and promotion

Little Wide Open was announced on February 11, 2026, alongside the release of its first single "Javelin". A tour of North America and Europe in support of the album was also announced.[5] A music video for "Javelin" was released the same day and stars Morby with his friend, comedian Caleb Hearon, riding an ATV through Missouri backroads and fields, with cameos from Katie Crutchfield and Tara Raghuveer.[6][7] "Die Young" was released as the second single on March 11, 2026.[8] It was accompanied by a music video directed by Morby with Zak Gorsuch and Chantal Anderson, which stars Morby wearing a fringed American flag jacket and wandering through a field of sunflowers, and was shot during magic hour.[9][10] A third single, "Badlands", was released on April 16, 2026.[11] Morby performed "Javelin" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 28, 2026.[12] The album was officially released on May 15, 2026.[13] A music video for "100,000" was released the same day.[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute85%[16]
DIY[17]
The Guardian[18]
Mojo[19]
PasteA–[20]
Pitchfork8.0/10[21]
Record Collector[22]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[23]
Uncut8/10[24]
Under the Radar8/10[25]

Little Wide Open was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 13 reviews.[15]

Grant Sharples of Paste gave the album an A- rating, writing, "With Little Wide Open, Morby has crafted something eternal, something that encapsulates the Midwest in all its rugged glory. It may just be his true masterpiece."[20] Will Hermes of Pitchfork wrote, "Little Wide Open is the most cohesive, tuneful and cleanly drawn album of Morby's career."[21] Tom Doyle of Mojo wrote that the title track was "arguably Morby's greatest song to date", concluding, "Altogether, Little Wide Open is a creative high water mark."[19] DIY wrote that, together with Dessner, Morby "crafted perhaps the most vivid and essential record of his career".[17] PopMatters gave the album a 9 out of 10 rating and assessed it to be Morby's "most direct, understated, and poetic work to date": Ultimately, Little Wide Open is a masterpiece of simple and, at times, epic proportions that will linger deep within one's soul."[26] Uncut's Sharon O'Connell concluded, "These 13 richly expansive, tender-hearted songs also map the in-between places, questioning what living means now, in the face of an apparent apocalypse."[24]

Sputnikmusic gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 rating, writing, "Little Wide Open certainly isn't grandiose or over the top, but it does feel like most of his best material settled into one place here. It possesses all the marks of a year-defining folk/Americana release – and while I'll stop short of calling it an instant classic, I do think time will be kind to this album."[23] Ljubinko Zivkovic of Beats Per Minute wrote, "From the poetic appraisal of the confounding status quo on the country hug of "Badlands", to the banjo-bolstered sigh of summer aimlessness that is "Cowtown", he consistently proves that his ear is as sharp as his tongue – and it all captures what he sees with his unique eye."[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kevin Morby.

Little Wide Open track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Badlands"3:54
2."Die Young"3:52
3."Javelin"3:45
4."All Sinners"3:50
5."Natural Disaster"7:08
6."100,000"5:13
7."Little Wide Open"8:09
8."Cowtown"3:26
9."Bible Belt"4:18
10."I Ride Passenger"3:50
11."Junebug"3:31
12."Dandelion"3:46
13."Field Guide for the Butterflies"4:34
Total length:59:16

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal.[27]

Charts

Chart performance for Little Wide Open
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 72
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 51
French Albums (SNEP)[30] 113
French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP)[31] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 89
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 27
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 13
Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 17
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[36] 16
UK Americana Albums (OCC)[37] 5
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[38] 7
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[39] 45

References

  1. ^ Pelly, Jenn (April 23, 2026). "Life & Death in Kevin Morby's Midwest". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  2. ^ "The Story Behind Every Song On Kevin Morby's Masterful New Album 'Little Wide Open'". Stereogum. May 15, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  3. ^ Moody, Mark. "Kevin Morby on "Little Wide Open" and Middle America". Under the Radar. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Rettig, James. "Little Wide Open". Bandcamp. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Coplan, Chris (February 11, 2026). "Kevin Morby Announces Aaron Dessner-Produced Little Wide Open, Shares "Javelin"". Consequence. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  6. ^ Gallacher, Alex (February 11, 2026). "Kevin Morby Announces 'Little Wide Open' Album shares Lead Single and Video 'Javelin'". KLOF Mag. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  7. ^ Paiz, Juliet (February 24, 2026). "Kevin Morby Announces New Album Little Wide Open For May 2026 Release, Shares New Single & Video "Javelin" -". mxdwn Music. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  8. ^ Redfern, Mark. "Kevin Morby Shares Video for New Song "Die Young"". Under the Radar. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  9. ^ "Kevin Morby Shares New Song "Die Young": Listen". stereogum.com. March 11, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  10. ^ Paiz, Juliet (March 14, 2026). "Kevin Morby Shares Reflective New Single & Video "Die Young" -". mxdwn Music. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  11. ^ "Kevin Morby Shares New Single "Badlands": Listen". stereogum.com. April 16, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  12. ^ "Kevin Morby Plays 'Kimmel' With Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath: Watch". stereogum.com. April 29, 2026. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  13. ^ Corcoran, Nina (May 15, 2026). "15 Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  14. ^ KevinMorbyVEVO (May 15, 2026). Kevin Morby - 100,000 (Official Video). Retrieved May 20, 2026 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ a b "Little Wide Open by Kevin Morby Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  16. ^ a b Zivkovic, Ljubinko (May 18, 2026). "Album Review: Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  17. ^ a b Britton, Luke Morgan (May 13, 2026). "Kevin Morby - Little Wide Open". DIY. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  18. ^ Petridis, Alexis (May 14, 2026). "Kevin Morby: Little Wide Open review – midwestern elegist mulls over the mystery of life's big questions". The Guardian. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  19. ^ a b Doyle, Tom (July 2026). "Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open". Mojo. No. 392. p. 86.
  20. ^ a b Sharples, Grant (May 13, 2026). "Little Wide Open is Kevin Morby's Midwestern masterpiece". Paste. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  21. ^ a b Hermes, Will (May 14, 2026). "Kevin Morby: Little Wide Open Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  22. ^ Curran, Shaun (May 2026). "Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open". Record Collector. No. 583. p. 102.
  23. ^ a b Sowing (May 16, 2026). "Review: Kevin Morby - Little Wide Open". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  24. ^ a b O'Connell, Sharon (June 2026). "Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open". Uncut. No. 352. p. 27.
  25. ^ Mullin, Kyle (May 14, 2022). "Kevin Morby: Little Wide Open (Dead Oceans) - review". Under the Radar. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  26. ^ Gill, Patrick (May 14, 2026). "Kevin Morby's 'Little Wide Open' Is His Masterpiece » PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  27. ^ "Little Wide Open / Kevin Morby / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  28. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  30. ^ "Top Albums (Semaine du 22 mai 2026)". Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  31. ^ "Top Rock & Metal Albums (Semaine du 22 mai 2026)" (in French). Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  32. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kevin Morby – Little Wide Open" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  33. ^ "Official Top 40 Albums". Recorded Music NZ. May 22, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 22/5/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  35. ^ "Veckolista Album Fysiskt, vecka 21" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart on 22/5/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  37. ^ "Official Americana Albums Chart on 22/5/2026 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  38. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 22/5/2026 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  39. ^ "Top Album Sales: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
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