Little Wide Open is Kevin Morby at his most perceptive. The album’s 13 tracks have an easygoing thoughtfulness that eulogizes Morby’s Midwest chapter, affectionate observations blinking like fireflies in the hilly grasslands of his Kansas City hometown. Ponderous and poetic, Morby muses on aging and creative life with arms outstretched to the heartland’s simplest beauties and life’s mundane tragedies. The lifelong indie rocker is joined on the album by collaborators from every corner of his lengthy songwriting career, from Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy to Lucinda Williams, lending the record a warm, choral feel in every performance configuration. Read our interview with Morby online. – Caroline Drew
