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.

Not for me. Cheesy lyrics, bland.

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.”

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Sad, elevator pop

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

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

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.

Lovely, lyrical and lush. 5 stars.

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

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.

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

Her lyrics are so bad. Like so so bad.

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

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.

It was ok, didnt grab me

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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)

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.

I was so glad when it was over

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Maybe better on said acid trip

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

Oh yes, Slow Burn is such a mood. Also really enjoy Butterflies, Space Cowboy, and High Hopes. Mother hit a nerve, it's short and bittersweet but being so far away from my family right now gave it punch. This album is just what I needed. I really appreciate her California country vibe.

This album feels like getting a nice long hug from a good friend you haven't seen in a while. One of my favorites.

loveee

Really nice album. Sort of folky / country vibe with beautiful vocals

Never thought I’d like a country album but here we are it’s great

Excellent!

Phenomenal album will listen again

This was one of my top albums of 2018 although I admit I put it lower on my list than I should have. This album has aged incredibly well and I can't believe it's been four years already since it's release. Feels like yesterday. I love this album. Every song on it is special in it's own unique way and stirs up memories of this or that. Both memories of when the album came out and growing up in Texas. Funny, it took me till this album to find out who Kacey Musgraves was so after I went back to her other prior albums and enjoyed those almost as much. I think this was her best album and I think the Grammy's agreed.

I’ve loved this album since its release, but for some reason I was very surprised to find Kacey Musgraves on this list. I’m really happy she is. GOLDEN HOUR is such a nice album… it flows along with strong country roots mixed with a lot of other vibes. Who doesn’t want to take their “High Horse” out on the dance floor?! But this album is mostly made up of more contemplative songs that flow gently along like a wonderful stream. I’m sure there are country purists who will judge, but I’m very happy Kacey Musgraves has made this list!

Well this was a delightful surprise! This was such a perfect soundtrack to a lunchtime walk on a beautiful spring day. Kacey Musgraves in my ears, sunshine and a smile on my face. I loved her voice, her songwriting, and the creative instrumentation of this album. I enjoyed how she played around with the country genre to create something fun and so engaging. I enjoyed every song. A few notes include the creative reuse of the "Space Cowboy" title, the gloriously lovely "Velvet Elvis," the clever "Wonder Woman," the exquisite country-disco mashup of "High Horse," the beautiful title track "Golden Hour"... and the rest!

I was impressed with this album when it first came out and still think it is very good. We get a strong sense of who Kacey Musgraves is from this record and I thought it blended country with contermporary pop very well. The Melodies in lonely weekend, velvet Elvis, and High Horse were all super catchy.

Probably the most surprising album to date. I love it! I haven’t been able to move on to today’s album because this one has been on repeat. It’s labeled country pop. I hear a little twang here and there, but there is more pop than country, which is a good thang.

YESSSSSSSS

My wife plays this all the time. It will always remind me of her

Yeah this is fantastic. Even ignoring the title, this album just brings such a warm feeling and thorough comfort with it. Part of that is just what country music does (although it is not at all my favorite genre), but Kacey’s voice has a great delicate mess to it which amplifies that. Really creative song topics/lyrics and production stays fresh by working in elements of electronic, dance, and pop. 9/10

Coups de coeur : Golden Hour Lonely weekend

It's good

A masterpiece of pop country. Kaceys voice is on a whole nother level here. The albums closer is stunning and brilliant. Top to bottom there’s no skips to be had. Absolutely incredible album. Listen to this one!

Enjoyed this. Modern country, some fun twists and turns in instrumentation. And the girl can write some vicious lyrics.

hehehehehehehehehe have listened to this since 2018. STILL MAKES ME HAPPY and sad at the same time :'((

Something about this album rolls off the tongue so well. I fell in love with “slow burn” awhile ago and was happy to see this album was on the list as I knew I’d like it. It met all my expectations and then some. Will definitely listen again in the future.

Beautiful. Goes a bit too 'poppy' for me over the last few tracks, but the initial two thirds of this album is wonderful. Absolutely loved it - straight onto my playlist.

Listened to on 8/17/22 5/5 Favorite song: space cowboy, happy + sad, butterflies, slow burn I love this album - Kacey is such a talented artist and her songwriting skills are amazing. I listened to this album all day long and only wound up liking it more and more

Automatic five stars since I own this album and have listened to it many times. I adore this album. This is the ninth album I’ve already heard (just released I had miscounted earlier, ugh). I was a little late to this album as I only discovered Kacey Musgraves in late 2018. Someone had added “Oh, What a World” onto a shared playlist I was on, and it was love at first listen. I’ve been a big fan of ever since.

Very nice surprise. Nora Jones via Katie Melua. Great singer and some beautiful songs to meditate to.

So much more than country, Golden Hour combines electronic, folk and pop influences. It provides the perfect backdrop for Musgraves’ exploration of loss, love and maturation.

Without a doubt, this was a personal 5; one forced oneself to listen after reading all the plaudits and awards, despite being ready to loathe it, was taken aback by a thoroughgoing (even deep) enjoyment, which has largely lasted on subsequent listening across multiple years. But it might fall just short in pure critical terms. “Slow Burn” is a great opener, and “Lonely Weekend” nearly matches it. “Happy and Sad” is terrific, real pathos hiding in the easy beats and the title track is as good a love song as one has heard in years – really it should close the record. Perhaps one has to be a writerly type (as one is) or exceedingly editorial-minded (ditto) to appreciate the full and profound significance of the comma in “Space, Cowboy.” There is a precision-engineered, high-end feel to these songs, as if this is the absolute best and most advanced pop-country-music industrial complex can produce. The songs are almost clinically good (winningly so in “Oh What a World” and “Wonder Woman,” less effectively with “Velvet Elvis” and “High Horse” both of which one can do without because they seem jokey toss-offs, what with the cutesy production flourishes.) And yet one was deeply moved by the title cut upon first listening and still love it, can be touched even, when one slows down to listen to it. [Weird that this record is not listed in one’s book, nor on the 1001.net site, even under the exes.] 4.5 / 5 (rounding up for personal meaning)

キュートでポップで癒される、そして切なさを必ずと言っていいほど包含する彼女のストーリーに引き込まれた。

Not in my edition of the book! 2018. 5 stars The millennium lovechild of The Dixie Chicks, Joni Mitchell and Lana Del Rey. Great songs, lovely voice, classy warm production and excellent musicianship. On the repeat play list.

A solid country record with some modern (and retro) twists. The influences range from Dusty Springfield to what sounds like Daft Punk? Pretty nuts and caught me totally by surprise. Favorite tracks: "Slow Burn", "Butterflies", "Space Cowboy", "High Horse"

"Golden Hour" is the fourth studio album from Kacey Musgraves. She co-wrote and co-produced with Daniel Tadhian and Ian Fitchuk. The music is classified as country pop with elements of disco, electropop, electronica and yacht rock. Yeah, without knowing anything, I would just classify this as pop. This is a nice sounding and very well-produced album. Kacey said she wrote a lot of love songs, which she hadn't too much before, as she just was coming off getting married and was in her golden hour. Never bashful about publicly stating she does drugs, she said she wrote a few songs under the influence of acid. Good for her. This album was a huge success being nominated for and winning four Grammy's including album of the year. This album is filled with hits. It starts with "Slow Burn" and its guitar-driven and "poppy" sound. Great lyrics..."Born in a hurry, always late." Nice lyrical use of contrasts. Another nice sounding song is the second single "Butterflies." Good production with its keyboards and piano. She uses a vocoder in "Oh, What a World." Another enjoyable, optimistic song. Guitar. Banjo. The album second half continues her run of singles. "Space Cowboy" might be its most country-sounding song. Slide guitar. Dreamy...yeah, this is one of the ones she wrote tripping. Give her man some space. "High Horse" incorporates more of a dance beat and chunky bass line. This reminds me more of a late 70's song. She even sounds nice telling her man to hit the road. The album ends with her final single "Rainbow." A beautiful ballad. Rain and rainbow imagery. An uplifting song about not giving up... There's always a rainbow above your head. I saw Kacey at Lollapalooza the following year and she was very good. This is a great album with a lot of top-notch pop songs. I don't if she'll ever reach these heights again but she doesn't have to; she has this.

great!

🥰🥰🥰 Kacey is my girl

I'm a huge swiftie so I'm familiar with Musgraves, but I'd never actually had a reason to listen to her. I know people have tried to make up beef between these two (which I don't get) but I understand why. This album is very early Taylor before she went much more pop / indie. And I love it. I'm a sucker for stuff. Great country with pop infusion. Need to dig into her discography more.

This album marks the end of a trilogy of great albums from Ms. Musgraves. I think she's a great songwriter and performer. This one frequently veers into pop, which is usually not something I want from my country musicians, but she pulls it off spectacularly. There are so many ear worms on here. I think it's a bit early to give it a 5 as it hasn't really had a chance to take the test of time, but I really do think it's a contemporary classic. It's just a shame she went full pop on the next album and realized a super disappointing pile of crap. I'm hoping she has another album like this in her before she calls it a day.

Love Kacey, the simple storytelling songwriting, her vocals are awesome, and her wordplay is super fun to listen to. I have this album on vinyl and listen to it frequently.

Sublime adult contemporary pop that transcends the country-pop label. Hazy days of summer kinda mood.

Yay. One of my all time faves. This was on my list to listen to soon, and now I will. I don't even like country, but I love this.

Such a good album. Her pop breakout. Velvet Elvis, Space Cowboy, Rainbow are the totl.

Just lovely.

This seems like an easy 5. There are so many songs that are engaging.... though Rainbow and Butterflies are nearly perfect, most of the rest of the album shows strength with both melody and lyrical content. Very easy to appreciate.

A really nice album. I wonder if kids born today will listen to this in 40 years and think it's still as good then. Lonely Weekend is really nice.

One of the best modern country albums period.

Modern classic, no notes.

Fantastic album

Poppy alt-rock with ample country influence and I also caught some funk and disco stuff. Gorgeous voice, some excellent turns of phrase. I enjoyed this more than expected!

I listened to this on my HomePod today and it’s in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music. The quality of it made me regret I started buying vinyl records. Truly reference level shit.

Charming

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

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.

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

What a gem

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

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!!!

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.

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!

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

Surprisingly fantastic. Every song is good. Love it.

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

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.