Golden Hour

Now I do like this album, and I think comes down to a few things: 1. Female country vocalists are way more palatable to me. 2. Some really unique production things going on in a few songs that spice it up. 3. It really tiptoes the line of what I dislike about modern pop and what I dislike about modern country in a way that succeeds at avoiding both.

Is this serious? This is definitely NOT an album you must hear. It is one you must simply destroy before It brain damages you.

This doesn't feel particularly special. Got to the second song and felt like the album was dragging on.

When this album came out, I had previously listened to Pageant Material, and I could tell that Kacey was a bit different from the average country artist. But "a bit different" has nothing on this album. It's got remnants of country music, in some of the imagery and instrumentation, but so much of it veers into mainstream pop or even indie territory. I could see this being very jarring for country fans, and possibly still too country for those who hate country, but for me it hit a sweet spot that I didn't know existed. Kacey's voice is a glass cannon--it's fragile and vulnerable, but it hits like a truck. She cuts through every instrumental to deliver lyrics that turn the mundane into something at least clever, if not profound. Compare, for example, "Space Cowboy," a song spun out of a pun that's relished on every chorus, and "Mother," a one minute "try not to cry" challenge that I have never beat. A lot of times on here I'm reminded of artists like Sufjan Stevens or Phoebe Bridgers, both artists who excel at turning the everyday into something powerful. I think Phoebe and Sufjan are more skilled writers, but Kacey brings their sensibilities to pop, which is neat. The melodies and chord progressions throughout are addictive; they may be poppy but damn do they work to destroy me. Of course I have this on vinyl, it's my favorite album of 2018 and one of my favorites of the last decade. As much disdain as I have for the racist institution that the Grammys have become, giving this AOTY was one of the best calls they've made in recent memory. Of course it's a 5 for me. Favorite tracks: I love this whole thing, and my favs change all the time, but Oh, What a World, Slow Burn, Space Cowboy, Golden Hour, Mother. Album art: Absolutely love this one. For me, at least, it's become iconic, but that designation needs more time. For now, I just love the color contrast here, the solid blue sky behind Kacey and her fan thing. A little bit of blur or distortion adds to it too. 5/5

Well, fuck…if more country music sounded like this I might not hate it so much. As the record goes on, however, a thought occurs: “Huh, it took 18 years for early 2000’s indie rock to permeate popular country music. Ain’t that something.”

She's more Alison Krauss than Taylor Swift. I mean, Musgraves claims that she wrote two of the best songs while tripping on LSD. That's something Taylor would never fess up to even if it were true (somewhat related: I can't imagine what songs Taylor would compose on LSD, but I'm sure cats and Jake Gyllenhaal would be involved somehow). If I ever get the chance to drop acid, I want Kacey Musgraves to be my guide. I'm alright with a slow burn.

Cut from the same cloth as early Taylor Swift, with consistently great songwriting, lyrics, and vocal performance, even if a few tracks weren’t really my taste. A great country pop album. Unfortunately, the fact that Space Cowboy was not, in fact, about cowboys in space, was a major letdown.

I remember there was a radio station whose motto was "we play country without the twang", which I saw as a bad thing since country is all about the twang. This is definitely twang-free country. Country pop with an empahasis on the pop. I can see people liking this. The melodies are fairly catchy. I won't give her a 1 because that would put her in the same chapter in my book as The Circle Jerks, George Michael & those fuckin' Eagles.

Not for me. Cheesy lyrics, bland.

It's so lovely to find an album you like in a genre you don't typically enjoy. This feels closer to folk these days, instead of the bro-cou try you otherwise tend to hear

Texas is hot, I can be cold Grandma cried when I pierced my nose I'm gonna give this one a miss.

This couldn't be a more generic, cookie-cutter album if it tried; pull any random stranger off the street and give them 24 hours to make an album, guaranteed it'll turn out 100% better than this. Terrible voice that's auto-tuned out the wazoo make this unenjoyable at best, it's completely uninteresting musically so it's really just pointless noise that you can't wait to turn off. I'm sure someone enjoys this but really I just feel sorry for them.

I went back and forth with this one but, in the end, Kacey's voice and delivery tipped the scales to the positive. It doesn't hurt that the production is fantastic. "Golden Hour" is a fun album. It's nothing groundbreaking but it's also just enjoyable. There's shockingly few albums on this list that are just easy and fun. Thankfully, this one is.

Not usually a country fan but this was an enjoyable listen. Loved the production on this album and all of the cool chord progressions. The tone of the album felt pretty consistent throughout as well. A pleasant surprise! Favourite Tracks: Slow Burn, Lonely Weekend, Space Cowboy

sometimes it seems like the guy who wrote this book just picks something inoffensive from the past decade so as not to be accused of being out of touch with the times

Taylor Swift has a lot to answer for and none of it is good.

Radio 2 friendly country-tinged schmalz. You could imagine this being a 1001 album you must listen to if it was a trailblazer that defined the genre.. but this is like Leanne Rimes crossed with KT Tunstall- it’s not even original

Oh man I love this album. I first heard about her / this record when it won the Grammy for record of the year 2019 (even though it came out in 2018? I forget how that works) over other acts like Drake, H.E.R., Post Malone, Janelle Monae, and the OST for Black Panther. People were upset at that and I felt obliged to check this out because I am naturally attracted to the underdog. I am a younger brother and a Mets fan after all. I listened a lot to this album on a trip to Colorado in February 2020, the month before COVID19 hit. It will always exist in a very vivid place in my brain in helping me remember that period of time just before it all went to shit. I also revisited it by chance on a 4/20/2020 livestream hosted by Willie Nelson with people doing home performances- it was funny because she was wearing green pyjamas and saying that she was completely out of weed and how it sucked. I just found a recording of it actually, and she said roughly "I dressed up for the occasion, I brushed my teeth. This is a strange 4/20 mostly because I'm completely out of weed, not even a crumb. No dust. Not even a cbd joint so that's fun. I'm gonna play Lonely Weekend because every day feels like a lonely weekend, I don't even know what today is." To say that that shit resonated with me would be heavily understating it. I'm really thankful for this album and finding it during that time because I along with everyone else was having a tough time but also because I really just wanted some poppy shit to sit and enjoy on a day to day basis and this did it for me. The definition of a guilty pleasure, even though I think that concept is bullshit and no one should feel that way for liking something. Plus I think the whole album is generally inspired by her at the time recent marriage to her husband and how he brought a lot of love to her life and that's the kind of shit I wanted to hear about. This record has four really really great tracks on it- "Slow Burn" "Lonely Weekend" "High Horse" "Golden Hour" I love how different each one is. Slow Burn is a slow and introspective track that gives some background on her and sets the stage. There's no rush here. The chorus melody is GORGEOUS. I love that little run over the top of the chords under it. I recently played this track for someone who at one point said they didn't like her too much. I played it on guitar and sang that chorus over the chords and they were like "oh yea that's really nice". Lonely Weekend is a bop and does my favorite thing for any album that has a hint of rock in it- it is a more uptempo and energetic second track! I love her voice in this one, it's so sensitive and pristine. I love the way she utilizes little nuanced melodic flourishes and runs, like the "out" in the lyric "without you". There's many of them on this album. This song really highlights how clean and effortless her voice sounds. The acoustic guitars are also immaculately recorded. I love the faster strums in your right ear, slower ones in your left, and the combination that hits around the :45 second mark. This chorus is so good. The lyrics are so simple but the concept really hit me during COVID. I remember having many days at work and being surrounded by people when I didn't want to be and still feeling lonely and isolated and missing my wife. High Horse is a fun disco respite from the established conventions and sound in the rest of the album. This is the radio track. Golden Hour is a super pretty song that sums up the whole album's sentiment towards her newfound love with her husband. It's got extended chords from jazz, it's got her natural little country twang, it's got a Beatles esque bridge chord progression (around 1:55), it's got probably the softest vocals on the record, and more tight production. The droney synths in the chorus are a hidden highlight for me. The rest of the album really isn't that far behind those tracks. Sometimes these albums on this list have stark contrasts from the big hits and the "other" tracks but I can't say that for his record. "Butterflies" wasn't even really on my radar but is a killer song and is somehow the highest played one on Spotify. "Velvet Elvis" is like a more poppy / more country (but definitely not pop country) Black Keys track. I love the album cover. Really simple and really evocative. The font choices are perfect- thin for her name, bold for the album title, her name being under the album name, all good choices. Man she looks hot with those big eyelashes. On better screens/monitors you can see these little visage mirror images of her face above her head. It's interesting. On my old 1080p IPS panel monitor I can barely make them out, but on my nicer 1440p IPS panel they are more visible. Hard rate for me. I want to give it a 4 as I really reserve 5's for really truly great records but it's hard for me to put this as anything lower than a 5. The great songs on this album are really great and the floor of this album is so high. It's a 5.

I love this album. Psychedelic pop country is a genre I didn't know I wanted or needed when I first heard Butterflies.

I had no clue that this singer existed. This album made me silly-happy. Guess I found a new thing.

Sad, elevator pop

No personality, no substance, inoffensive trash. And to top off the disappointment Space Cowboy is not about a cowboy in space

This looks like the exact kind of album introduced in the book/list as a promise, just to be removed in newer versions (After writing it, I checked Wikipedia and discovered that she is an experienced country singer and that the album won the Grammy's. It confirms that I understand nothing about music and that this project is perfect for discovering new stuff, even the worst ones). Flat, bland, personality-less, and generic.

So bland. Cheesy, naive and/or innocuous. Maybe you can salvage the first track somehow, but everything else is too dumb, musically or lyrically speaking. The one with all the clichéed metaphors about Kacey's unreliable love interest being like a horse got me laughing out loud, I admit. The thing is, I'm pretty sure that was not her intent to be comical here. Duh. 🙄I'm not wasting any more time on this review, I've already wasted to much of it trying to listen to this artist. Musgraves is criminally overrated by prominent music websites these days, but she's not the only one... Don't *fully* trust Dimery's list after 2010, by the way: half of it is filled with albums made by such overrated artists. Which is a crime given the insane amount of great music that's been recorded in the last ten years or so... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 700, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far  Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter (including this one)

So they expanded the initial 1001 list so we could include this? I like country music but not the white collar variety. She says John Prine is one of her main influences. I'll take JP but his influence seems very well composted under piles of white collar and Las Vegas styles of country.

Love this album

If Trump loses this election, I'm gonna have "High Horse" on repeat for DAYS. Country, or something else? Who cares. She's great, and this album is great, start to finish. 5/5

Not a country fan ban slow burn has been a favorite for a min

I had never heard Kacey Musgraves's music before and really had very little expectations on what it would sound like. I really enjoyed Golden Hour. This isn't really country music but I also don't think it is trying to be country music. It's country pop with different inflections mixed in. I despise country artists who try to fit into the country genre but they are clearing using drum machines and they are auto-tuned to hell (Hi, Morgan Wallen and Florida-Georgia Line!). It's like they want to be rappers but also really wish rap wasn't a genre with so many black people in it. I may be getting off track here...This isn't truck/cowboy/beer country music and I appreciated that. Slow Burn, Space Cowboy, Butterflies, Rainbow, Wonder Woman and High Horse are all really great songs. This is one of the few modern albums I have listened to that deserve a place on this list.

Fuck it 5 stars

I let out an audible HYB when I saw this pop up, a well deserved contemporary placing on the list. On reflection Side B probably lacks the same punch as the first half but it's still a great album. Her voice is outrageous and story telling is incredibly relatable

Lovely, lyrical and lush. 5 stars.

Completely new artist for me—really enjoyed this apart from a couple of tracks that seemed designed more for the pop charts. The artist’s voice reminds me a little of Suzanne Vega. Described as country but more contemporary sounding. Giving it a 4 so I’ll come back to it.

Love Kaceys voice and this album is great. The only thing holding it back from 5 stars is her corny ass lyrics “That bar down the street don’t close for an hour. We should take a walk and look at all the flowers”. Yeesh

Musgraves pushes the limits of the usual conservative genre of country by flirting with elements of pop and electronic music. It gives it a unique sound. Musically, country fans shouldn't be too distracted by the occasional synthesizer or vocoder but more conservative listeners might be put off by some of her progressive politics, something the genre isn't famous for.

This was a great modern pop country album. Overall I don’t love a lot of the modern commercial country music but musgraves did a fantastic job of bridge by country sound with melancholy pop. The lyricism and singing make this an enjoyable album that can be heard many times. I feel like years down the road people will still like this album. 7.8/10

I enjoyed this, although as the opening track suggests, Kacey Musgraves really enjoys her slow burns. Golden Hour is a little slow to get through, in part due to all the songs having fairly similar country-pop arrangements. This includes a horrifically simple drum machine loop on most tracks – though the songs that don't include any percussion really shine as a result. The acoustic guitar playing is colourful, emotional, and really carries most of the songs here, along with the reasonably strong piano. Both could've shown some more virtuosity, but there's a beauty in simple music that Musgraves definitely has the hang of. I also have to mention her singing. Musgraves's singing accent is so quintessentially American that it loops back around from being a bit silly to being genuinely fun to listen to. In addition, her lyricism is very straightforward, memorable, and easy to sing along to. But it's not particularly poetic: "Monday, I was gone, and Tuesday, you were workin' late Wednesday went to hell, then Thursday kinda had to wait, yeah Friday, you were leavin', goin' out of town again I should see what's goin' on, only got a couple friends" "Is there a word for the way that I'm feeling tonight Happy and sad at the same time" "Texas is hot, I can be cold Grandma cried when I pierced my nose" Musgraves's style is definitely inspired by the likes of Alison Krauss, early Taylor Swift, and (possibly) some very particular aspects of Dolly Parton. More processed-sounding than all three, though. I think an artificial feel has its place in music, but perhaps not in country. But then, people seem to enjoy this stuff. It did win 6 Grammys. 3/5 Key tracks: Slow Burn, Butterflies, Space Cowboy, Rainbow

I'd say this is a decent album. There were some genuinely good songs on here I can see myself returning to. A lot of it was just mid/so-so for me though. Interesting to hear some fusion of country, pop, and indie. All in all it rounds out to about 3* for me.

Her lyrics are so bad. Like so so bad.

Man this one was a chore to get through, I didn’t enjoy a single moment. Songwriting is as almost as basic as can be, with no interesting musical or instrumental work. The pitch correction on the vocals is especially irritating; it makes the singing sound so lifeless. Music for people who like “chill vibes” but who don’t actually like music. Actually the most basic album I’ve heard all year

По какому ебаному принципу сюда добавляли именно ЭТИ альбомы из 10х годов??? У меня слов нет просто. По альбому могу сказать только одно - эту сучку я бы трахнул

Maybe better on said acid trip

I remember a bit of a fuss going around when this came out, but I never checked it out as it didn't seem like my thing, but I guess now it's been forced upon me. And oh man it's exactly what I dreaded, completely boring country-pop with nothing interesting or captivating about it. What on earth convinced them that this needed to be on the list, 1000s of albums that sound exactly like this have been made for decades now. Her vocals are fine, but there's only so long I can listen to the basic lyrics, basic playing, basic song structure over and over. Made 45 minutes feel like a few hours.

Beautiful voice, but this is literally the most generic, bland, American, pop music possible (oop sorry, country). Why is this even here? Won't relisten.

I was so glad when it was over

1 This list has helped me develop some respect and appreciation for country music, a genre I’ve never been the biggest fan of, but modern country pop stuff like this… yeah still not a fan. I can acknowledge this isn’t an outright bad album in quality, but it also does nothing for me. I wish she had leaned more in either the pop or country direction instead of straddling the line of both, as the result comes off sounding like formulaic sounding radio fodder without much of its own identity, or at best, a second-rate Taylor Swift album. All in all, it’s not incredibly versatile in vocal or musical performance, making it all feel very one-note. If you don’t enjoy the first song, you’re not going to enjoy the rest. Can’t imagine a scenario where I’d willingly listen to this one again.

Oh, awesome, modern pop country, my ffffaaaavvoooorrriiittteee. I'd first like to say I'm under the belief lyrics, while important to a song, are usually a backseat compared to the instrumentation, otherwise it would just be poetry. That being said, the lyrics in this are awful. When they're not cheesy they're just bad. "In Tennessee, the sun's goin' down, but in Bejing, they're headin' out to work", what the fuck does that mean? What does that have to do with this love song? Yeah, timezones exist, good job Kacey. It doesn't even rhyme within the song, which I would excuse as an artistic choice, except the very next two lines rhyme with each other, so obviously it wasn't that. There's other examples all throughout the album, but when your first song has a lyric that makes me burst out laughing, you probably don't have the keen-est sense of writing, and there's probably a reason most pop singers don't write their own music anymore. Another thing is the actual choice of genre itself. It's pop country with light sprinklings of more electronic-esque genres, but that isn't used in any interesting capacity, they just usually are either a light backing track that aren't notable enough to talk about, or start the song, hoping one of these songs will actually sound different, before switching back to pop country about five seconds later. This pop country is also aggravating. It's the worst of country, never really committing to the genre, which is fine by me because modern country is pretty awful in my mind, but I agree this is more pop music than anything. Bad pop music, that is, because none of this has the goal of pop music, which is to be catchy, and I don't remember these songs two seconds after they end. How do you make a song called "Space Cowboy" boring? Or "Velvet Elvis"? There's just really nothing here I enjoy whatsoever, and the amount of modern pop albums I could understand being on here compared to this makes this even worse. Is it as bad as a male lead vocal modern country song? No, it isn't about trucks and beer, it can attempt something more interesting, it just doesn't stick the landing whatsoever.

Bland modern country pop with terrible teenage diary lyrics. GIve me old dirty outlaw country over this saccarhine shit anytime. Probably great if you're 13 years old and fancy Cletus. Best Tracks: Slow Burn; Butterflies; Velvet Elvis

No thanks. It’s one of those specialty cocktails that’s all syrup and grenadine and you can’t even taste the tequila. You doubt they even put tequila in it because it’s so sugary. But they charged you like it was given a proper 1.5oz from the top shelf. Pop country only appeals to the lowest common denominator of people. I can’t imagine what there is in this album content wise that merits our attention. Again I have to harken back to Weezer. Why the fuck is the Blue Album NOT on the list but this is?!?! I’m rating this a one, admittedly maybe too harshly, but I’m just so stymied by some of the list maker choices.

Too much time rolling around in the satin sheet production, not enough time on the writing. When they aren't outright clunkers, they're pap. And when when they're not pap, the drippy aesthetic makes them sound like it.

It was ok, didnt grab me

Impressive

So talented. Would listen repeatedly. And will.

Love Casey and love this album. This was her best by far. So far.

Pleasant sound

A refreshing country pop album that put Kacey into the superstardom level she deserves.

Great album love her voice! Slow Burn, Oh, what a World has all the feels, the kind of song that can almost make you briefly forget that we may all be totally fucked in a couple weeks. Love is a Wild Thing another great track. I can only hope the closing track which claims "It will all be alright" is true.

Hauntingly beautiful

Favorite Tracks: High Horse Slow Burn Rainbow

I love this album. In my journey to county music I found this and I added it to my collection. I would recommend this to anyone who is willing to give country a try.

BORN IN A HURRY ALWAYS LATE HAVEN’T BEEN EARLY SINCE ‘88 I used to say I hated country… I LIED adore this album, Kacey has such a beautiful voice and she is such a beautiful song writer

As soon as I heard the first song, I knew I was in for a treat - 5/5 Her lyrics are so simple, and that's what makes this album so good. You don't need to overcomplicate things when you are writing music as gorgeous as this. Her lyricism also shows she is one of us (sensitive, melancholic, anxious), and that makes me love her even more. I will be listening to this a lot from now on, except Mother or Rainbow, because they both made me cry and I don't need to deal with all of those emotions on a daily basis. Favourites: Slow Burn Oh, What a World

A bomb album.

One of my favourite albums that year. Witty writing, lush instrumentation, immaculate vibes.

Just throwing out that I wish there was a way to give half stars here. I liked this album a lot when it came out and it still stands up. Great crossover album. I feel like it can get country, indie rock, and pop people going. So going to give a 5 here, but really more like a 4.5.

This album popped my country cherry. It was really good but made me realize it's not what I wanted. Now I have a wife and a cat

No skips

Un personal favorite desde que lo escuché, Kacey puede ser muy poco country tradicional pero tiene una xvr mezcla con el pop.

Damn near perfect record!

Such an excellent country album. Kacey Musgraves has such a sweet voice, and such thoughtful and clever and emotive lyrics. The production is so modern and innovative. It feels like a warm country album with glittery pop embellishments. I thought the singles were great when the album came out, and new favorites include "Slow Burn" "Wonder Woman" "Happy & Sad" and "Golden Hour."

5/5 Oh What a World Rainbow? Butterflies?

Good

opening song banger closing song er. all the songs in between bangers incredible album. I don't know if I'm a country fan, but I certainly am a Kacey Musgraves fan.

I'm in love

Top-tier modern country. Not a single miss across the album.

I’ve heard one song from Kacey Musgraves before this which I thought was fine. But I loved this! Beautiful melodies, quality songwriting, and a collection of tunes that fit nicely together. A perfect album. 5/5

Every song is good. Kacey Musgraves is hot.

Amazing album and a beautiful voice

Don't really listen to modern country, but really enjoyed this. Lovely voice. Went and listened to her other hits. 5/5

I forgot how much of a sucker I am for Kacey musgraves. I typically abhor new country but between her voice and her lyrics I totally love it. Butterflies and high horse has always been a fav of mine but happy and sad and velvet Elvis are the two I have stuck in my head the most this time around.

Very enojyable. Modern country done right, lovely voice and some nice musicla quirks without overpowering a country roots. 5

Caught her on this tour at Red Rocks. If she stopped recording tomorrow, this would be her signature record. Not a single track worth skipping. Just a classic record … from an old soul, waiting her turn … but she’s still got a lot to learn.

I don't think I've ever been immediately struck by how outstanding an album is. Musgraves has truly produced a masterpiece by all definitions of the word. I can't say enough good things about this record. 6/5.

the album's allure stems from not only in its musical innovation but also in its ability to radiate a warm, dreamy quality throughout, mirroring the golden hues its title suggests. it is literally my favourite so far - it’s such a 10/10 album, and deserves nothing less. full review on ig - @musicwithnessa

Beautiful voice, supremely talented

5/5

Really enjoyed

This album is the answer to the question, what would it sound like if Taylor Swift made a country record with the Flaming Lips? And it sounds awesome Deceptively simple songs with a touch of psychedelia that are enormously affecting One of the best albums of the past decade

JFC this album is fantastic. I'm not into this type of music and just had a stinker of a slow album in Joni Mitchell but this is fuego.

Simply beautiful songwriting and singing - not quite country, not quite pop. Immensely more wonderful than poor Taytay

Surprisingly fantastic. Every song is good. Love it.

This is good country. I didn't know good country still got made. Not my style (slow burn is the opposite of the 170bpm punk tracks i normally listen to), but hot damn what a song writer. I'll probably revist at some point. This is a great album to keep in the back pocket for when the car can't decide what to listen to on a road trip

This is one of those albums - I consider it a masterpiece, and nearly perfect. I remember listening to it when it came out, walking through NE Minneapolis where I lived at the time, hearing "Slow Burn" and "Lonely Weekend" and thinking, if it continues like this throughout the album it's going to be a classic. It did not let me down! I listened to it, probably dozens of times over the following couple years, and it's still one I come back to regularly. At our wedding, Margaret and I had the musicians play "Oh, What A World" for the processional. There's unfortunately one track I regularly skip (High Horse), but all the others are top notch songwriting. I also appreciate how, despite being a "country" artist Kacey is not afraid to incorporate other genres and production techniques that you don't often here in pop country. Five stars!

Utterly charming. And a total Trojan Horse in that the lightness of effect and whimsical affect of many songs belie real yearning and pathos. KM is begging you to underrate her. Title cut is wondrous. "Slow Burn" and "Lonely Weekend" are also each top-shelf in slightly different registers. "Space, Cowoby" is the best punctuated song title ever (a treat for the grammarian-bookworm cohort) and lovely besides. The fun songs do their jobs, too. This record renewed one's faith in the ability of commercial music – and pop-country music – to produce beauty.

nah fuck this is actually so sweet I love it. in a golden hour of your life and taking the time to recognise that??? yes!!!

i'm not a fan of country music but this album is very good, i really liked it (sorry for my english) 9/10

What a gem

één van mijn favoriete country albums. Slowburn Happy & sad Golden Hour Maar vooral, Rainbow. Hoe mooi is die

I was incredibly excited to see this as my album for today. My parents went through a country phase in the nineties. Much to my disappointment, the classic rock and eighties music that they used to listen to didn't get anymore time on the stereo system in our living room, and they were replaced by Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and Trisha Yearwood. I hated it. Thankfully, I have an appreciation for those artists now, but at the time that my parents listened to them, I hated it. Post 9/11, most country music has been filled with faux patriotism, but thankfully this album is a stark contrast to that. Filled with vulnerable lyrics, excellent instrumentation, and experimentation with other genres, Kacey Musgraves shows that country music can still showcase all the things I like about older country music: emotional vulnerability, empowerment of women, and the complicated feelings of love. Every song on this album is distinct in sound and in tone, and it's one of those rare albums that I love to listen to all the way through. From the disco-infused "High Horse" to the witty word play of "Space Cowboy," Kacey Musgraves shows that she can do it all. Songs like "Wonder Woman," manage to show a certain vulnerability that I think female country artists abandoned for a time, when those thoughts of introspection were replaced with ballads of keying the cars of unfaithful lovers. While she may not be Wonder Woman, this album shows that Kacey Musgraves can do a lot, and she can do it really well.

Great voice and imagery in this album. Simple instruments all workcso well together.