Kacey Musgraves is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is she one of Country music’s most talked about singer-songwriters she is also creating quite the buzz in the pop world. She has opened for the likes of Katy Perry, Harry Styles, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town as well as unsurprisingly sold out her own headlining tours. She’s covered all the genre bases and is continuing to grow her arena ready country-pop with a polished fourth studio album. “Golden Hour” is her boldest, strongest and most cohesive record yet. She has truly found her sound and mixed together raw emotion with vulnerability, euphoric hooks and a polished pop production that hears her remaining truthful to her country roots. Album opener “Slow Burn” is a intimate and honest moment that hears her delivering an autobiographical track that reflects on the path she has paved so far in life. The acoustic country production is very simple but perfectly allows the storyline to take lead and welcomes this more emotional approach. “Lonely Weekend” introduces a pop inspired hook that will have you instantly singing along to this heartbreak and confusion track before having her mend your heart on the reflective “Oh, What A World”. But it’s the romantic “Butterflies” which had me gushing and feeling all giddy. “I didn’t know him and I didn’t know me. Cloud Nine was always out of reach. Now I remember what it feels like to fly. You give me butterflies”. This is one of the songs that are about when she first met her now husband and fell in love after giving up on herself. It’s also one of the more traditional country-pop tracks. Following in its footsteps is the sweet “Love Is A Wild Thing” and the empowering “Wonder Woman” but it’s her ballads that win a special part of my heart on this record. The traditional ballads “Mother” and “Rainbow” will have you feeling all emotional while “Happy & Sad” gives you a country-pop spin that will have your heart feeling heavy. “Is there a word for the way that I’m feeling tonight? Happy and sad at the same time. You got me smiling with tears in my eyes”. The reflective track is heartbreaking and sweet and will have you instantly relating to all those tough feelings. It wouldn’t be a country record without some gimmicky tracks and “Velvet Elvis” and “Space Cowboy” deliver those but its “High Horse” that has received the most hype. This disco meets country track is absolutely flawless. It’s so shiny and great and will have you dancing and singing along to it’s catchy hook. It’s the perfect step over the line into the pop world that will open a lot of more doors for her as it’s a bonafide bop. The whole record is an impressive collection of raw emotion and polished production where she doesn’t sacrifice the country sound she’s established but instead hears her growing and evolving as an artist. And she also may have just claimed the best country album of the year title…
You can purchase Kacey Musgraves new album “Golden Hour” from Sanity now; https://www.sanity.com.au/products/2367544/Golden_Hour