Golden Hour

Love

I think this album totally does what it sets out to do. There is nothing inherently bad about it but I really don't see how it is in the conversation of albums you must hear before you die.

This is modern country with a pop twist or maybe modern pop with a country twist. It’s far better than what I expect from modern country, but it’s still not really my thing.

I'm not normally into country, especially any country made since Taylor stopped making it. Oh, but I LIKED this! Her voice gives me chills. I'm giving it 4 stars for now, but I may regret not giving that 5th star later. It's giving yeehaw Lana Del Rey. Space Cowboy might be my new obsession.

Beautiful but boring

Don't care for country. However there was one song that stood out to me and I liked it!

Really enjoyable album. Pop-country that leans a little more toward pop. Standouts are Slow Burn, Butterflies, Space Cowboy, and Rainbow. In fact, Rainbow is one of a very few songs that can get me emotional just listening to it, and I suspect it will get more recognition over time as an all-time great ballad.

This is exactly what I was in the mood for this morning. I'm a sucker for music in the "Americana" genre, which is what we used to call country before country became...rap? I don't know. Anyway, AMAZING voice, banjo accompaniment, and actual country flavor. Whether or not it belongs on the list isn't for me to say, but I thought this was great, and I'll be adding this to my personal collection ⭐⭐⭐.75

The instrumentation and melodies aren’t so bad, they can’t get a bit repetitive though. Her vocals are strange, sometimes she’s got that c o u n t r y d r a w l, other times she sounds like a pop star. The albums not terrible it can get a bit repetitive for the melodies and the singing, the lyrics can be cheesy and boring with cliches.

I hate this.

Did not expect this feeling like a cowgirl and the wind is brushing my hair

it actually isn't that bud just not my style

Quite nice, not sure i would revisit however. Enjoyed the melodies and production but the vocals are a bit too clinical for my liking.

The country to pop shift has been going on for years now, and thus has slowly become the new "normal". I didn't pay too much attention to Kacey Musgraves when she broke through to the mainstream, but I immediately hear the pop appeal on this album. It actually gets more diverse the more time you spend with it, though. Heavy pop influence of course, but some disco/dance-like tracks, and even some indie presence too. No more "small town, country girl" themes here either, although the breakup songs are still a little prevalent. There are some melancholic and more personal notes all throughout though, and Musgraves does well when the subject matter demands a lighter tone. I quite enjoyed my listen for the most part, but leaning more towards a 3 as opposed to a 4.

CHANGED MY LIFE!! I’m not kidding! Kacey’s voice is so magical and captivating! GOATED

More like 4.5!

slow burn and rainbow are two of my favorite songs of all time. Kacey has such a beautiful voice. album is beautiful ❤️

There’s a reason this album is on here, she is an absolutely amazing artist.

Good choice, a great discover

Middle of the road country pop. Didn't really bother me, but nothing really stuck while listening to it...

#368 / 1089 Heard before? ❌ Revisit? ❌ Sounds pretty, very polished pop music, but it also sounds like every other pop vocalists music with slight variation. Doesn't do anything for me, would probably let it play in the background if it was on the radio in a car. But would not play this on purpose. She has a nice voice tho. It only occurred to me after reading up on it after writing the above, that it's considered country pop music. Strong 2/5

She's got a lovely voice and this is a very pleasant album to listen to. Too pleasant, really. Halfway through I was ready to put on some Cannibal Corpse or something.

Good country album. Lots of good lyrics

"Hey this isn't bad, maybe I'll like this one" I initially thought. That feeling left pretty quickly as the album dragged on, it's fine but very genre specific. The mix of bubblegum pop and country feels like music from a live action Disney thing.

Sounds like a super modern country album by a young pretty lady. After reading up on the artist it’s clear that there are things going on in the world that I know nothing about. So many monthly listeners- probably from Texas. It’s pleasant background noise but not something I have any enthusiasm about.

I wish we lived in a world where everyone were gentle enough that they could feel the simple sweetness, the beautiful warmth, that is harnessed here.

Favorite Song: High Horse

Not really heard a lot of KM but this a really good pop album which is a little different from her C&W heritage. Really nice vocals too.

Haven’t heard this album in a while, but it’s still a really nice chill country album to have on it n the background. Doesn’t do anything wild, but it’s a solid album nonetheless.

I'm making a list of 1001 albums people should listen to. What's the problem? I'm stuck at 300. Easy, just randomly select 700 or so! That is the only way this, along with a lot of others on here make it. 1.

Aunque este no sea el tipo de musica que suelo escuchar me gusto mucho el sonido de esta artista. Simple, clean music sin pretextos o complicaciones. The good kind of country music yeehaw(3)/5

- awful lyrics - Butterflies and High Horse are okay in the right context - not my favorite

She’s got a really soothing and nice voice, and the songs are decent and calming. But they are not really good

I swear this came up before, but maybe not. Not really into the country twang of it but it kinda rode a line between Country and pop/folk not really landing up anywhere. Nice voice, solid instrumentation.

Fine. It’s fine. She’s fine. Whatever.

2.92

I was not expecting to like this at all, but boy was I surprised. Decent songwriting along with some interesting bass playing, often with a nice skeletal acoustic guitar underneath all of the layers of sound. This made for a generally enjoyable listen.

Meg. Not as good as I hoped.

How is this here? It’s mainstream contemporary country which doesn’t make it bad but there’s a million albums like this. I suppose as a representative example it’s ok. 1.5 rounded up.

Musical wallpaper. Just a formulaic sound coupled with trite lyrics. She's one of hundreds.

I was all prepared to hate this recent mainstream.country-pop album. Not really to my taste. And yet, the listening experience was surprisingly pleasant. 'Golden Hour' is an apt title -- this has a warm glow reminiscent of late 70s Fleetwood Mac. Which is quite a feat. If it was easy to sound like 'Rumours', then everyone would do it. And that 'Space Cowboy's is a pretty great single. Three stars.

Koja je poenta dosadnog monotonog indie popa sa najblažim vokalnim country twangom ubačenim čisto onako? Ne kontam.

This was really dull! I have no idea why this is in this list.

too country

This album really grew on me over a few days. It’s very endearing. The first time I heard it I was really put off my the vocals. Not because they were bad obviously, just not my vibe really and I wasn’t in the right head space for this album. But a few days later I gave it another chance and it really had its movements throughout. The biggest highlights for me being Velvet Elvis, and oh what a world. The song that’s a massive hit song on this album, rainbow, isn’t bad I’m just sort of sick to death of it, not a bad song though. As a whole I think it was a pleasant little album, I just didn’t absolutely love it.

It's fine, but to me it doesn't seem particularly standout in either the country or folk realms.

Highlights: Velvet Elvis, High Horse I don't know what this airwave slop is doing on a list like this... It was a genuine waste of time and I believe this must be some sort of payola. The songs are extremely monotone and shallow. It just made me angry because I wasted 40 minutes of my life.

Her voice is so girlish sweet. The songs have good but predictable hooks. County music has morphed into something so different from its earlier iterations. Very pop.

I enjoyed this. It has the vibes of a freshman effort (although it is her 4th studio album.) A touch milquetoast, if even generic sounding but it’s eager and honest so it wasn’t at all a difficult listen.

I think I’ve grown out of this a lot, there are a few songs that still hit but the songwriting sort of feels like miss rachel (like happy and sad). Pageant material and same trailer different park are way better imo. She also just sings like she’s laying down on a couch but not in a good way, like diva try to put a little more edge in your voice. But this is the supermarket music I like ig

este disco está aquí por el impacto mediático que tuvo en estados unidos. más allá de eso poco que agregar la verdad. así por decir algo, la niña canta lindo y hay varios genros musicales dentre de este, pero ao fin y al cabo, un disco bastante simplón y genérico. es como musica de recepción o de acensor básicamente. primer disco con 1 estrella de esta travesía.

Pretty chill. 3.5/5

Very pleasant, absolutely great melodies that are almost sugar sweet The album sags slightly in the middle, but absolutely knocks it out the park with the last three tracks, though i fear slow burn captures the yearning part of my music taste the most

Already loved this whole album, ready to listen to it again

It's fine, not really my thing. It's a blend of country and contemporary pop, the country part pulls me but the pop part ruins it for me. It's got this same boring tinge all other contemporary pop albums seem to have. Uninteresting production and some really boring parts. I did find myself enjoying a few songs, so it was far from bad. Just not really my thing.

Why is this on here?

nice, really nice. country but with a little extra shine to it. "You're my golden hour" ahhhh.

😴unnecessary chick music

Hair metal never topped this peak.

Great voice, pretty good poppy music with a kindness and gentleness of spirit coming through. It's good to spin one like this in the rotation.

Great voice and very well-written songs

So happy to see her on this list. Great word rhyming patterns, and she is able to sing more about complex things instead of a “cheating man” concept that most female country singers bring. Lyrically has been one of my favorite country singers and always enjoy her stuff.

Country, wonder why this made it in this list

butterfly was cute - something about this seemed AI though. maybe just over produced?

I have been putting this album off since 2019 when Kasey won album of the year at the Grammys for this and you know what…. It’s catchy!!! I hate all country music I just can’t lie and I still think it’s true with this album being the only exception for now. I find most lyrics from country songs quite ….. corny and juvenile which is quite accurate for this album but still I was bopping along and saved half of the songs to my liked songs so it must be aight in my books. 3.5

If it weren’t for her voice and maybe a few lyrics, I wouldn’t classify this is country as all. This is just pop. It doesn’t even have jangly guitars!

Boring. Every song is the same. Does not get 1 because it did not actively hurt my ears.

Is it Country? Is it Pop? Is it a little corny either way? Yes. There are songs here that I genuinely enjoy ("Slow Burn", "Golden Hour") and there are moments that make me sad the same way all predictable/obvious contemporary country lyrics make me sad. As a kid, I used to play a game in the backseat of my mom's car where I tried to guess the next line of a country song before the singer spit it out and I was right far too often. But there's certainly some experimentation going on here that pulls it outside of the usual country guardrails. It's neat that you can throw anything else at country music - no matter how old the idea may be in the rock/pop/hiphop/etc world and it's treated like a wildly novel new idea. Who knew you could use that metaphoric rear-view mirror to be a visionary? I don't think I'll ever own this record, but I have a few songs on playlists. If I'm going to listen to contemporary country, I'll take this "not like other girls" version over the regular stuff any day.

I like her just fine, but for some reason I can only take one or two songs at a time. Her light, soft, sweet voice is somehow oppressive after just a few minutes.

I enjoyed this album way more than I expected to

Country pop. To me, this was very bland and uninspiring. The album has won many awards though so I clearly don't get the genre.

Oh, a contemporary singer-songwriter album that I actually like! How did that happen? First of all, Kacey Musgraves has a distinctive voice but doesn’t have an overbearing singing style. Second, she writes songs that are catchy while striking the right balance between familiar and innovative ideas. Third, “Golden Hour” is professionally and precisely produced—without flashy effects that demand attention and distract from the music. Fourth, the timing was perfect—this album is ideal for waking up slowly on a Sunday morning. Actually, those are pretty simple ingredients for a recipe for success. It works!

Her voice is as gorgeous as she is.

Released in March 2018, *Golden Hour* represents a pivotal moment in Kacey Musgraves' career—a dreamy, genre-blurring exploration of love, self-discovery, and the beauty found in life's quieter moments. The album emerged during a transformative period in her life: following a breakup, she met and married indie singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly, and the record captures that rare, luminous space where personal contentment meets artistic confidence. --- ## Lyrical Analysis Musgraves' songwriting on *Golden Hour* marks a departure from the sharp, satirical wit that defined her earlier work (*Same Trailer Different Park*, *Pageant Material*). Here, she embraces vulnerability over venom, choosing earnestness over irony. **Standout lyrical moments include:** - **"Slow Burn"** opens with the instantly relatable: *"Born in a hurry, always late, haven't been early since '88"*—a casual, conversational admission that sets the album's unhurried tone - **"Space Cowboy"** demonstrates her clever wordplay with the title itself—a double meaning referencing both the Steve Miller Band classic and the act of giving a lover space. The line *"when a horse wants to run, there ain't no sense in closing the gate"* captures mature resignation rather than bitter breakup theatrics - **"Happy & Sad"** explores emotional complexity with painful relatability: *"And I'm the kind of person who starts getting kind of nervous / When I'm having the time of my life"*—capturing that anxiety when joy feels too precarious - **"Rainbow"** (co-written with Shane McAnally and Natalie Hemby) serves as the album's emotional thesis: *"Let go of your umbrella / 'Cause darlin', I'm just tryna tell ya / That there's always been a rainbow / Hangin' over your head"* The album's lyrical approach is notably less politically charged than her previous work. While Musgraves has been vocal about LGBTQ+ allyship and progressive values, *Golden Hour* chooses intimate introspection over cultural commentary—with the exception of "Mother," a 78-second meditation on maternal lineage inspired by an acid trip where she felt connected to the cycle of mothers across generations . However, some critics found the lyrics to be the album's "greatest shortfall," arguing that the layered wit and complexity of her earlier work was sacrificed for "increasingly lightweight textures and ideas" . The writing, while technically proficient, occasionally lacks the bite and dimension that defined her breakthrough. --- ## Musical Style & Production Musically, *Golden Hour* represents Musgraves' most ambitious genre experiment. Working with producers **Daniel Tashian** and **Ian Fitchuk** (who also co-wrote much of the album), she crafted what many describe as "psychedelic country" or "cosmic country"—though the "psychedelic" elements are more lavender-hued than mind-bending . **Key sonic characteristics:** - **Pedal steel and banjo** remain present but are processed through dreamy reverb, creating an ethereal, shoegaze-adjacent quality without the volume - **Electronic elements** appear subtly—vocoder touches on "Oh, What a World," synthesized vocals, and modern production flourishes that never overwhelm the organic foundation - **Disco influences** emerge on "High Horse," a track that pairs country wordplay (*"giddy up"*) with a four-on-the-floor dance beat - **Tempo and groove** became points of contention—Musgraves herself charted the BPMs against country radio hits to prove they matched, but critics noted a "perceived tempo" issue where the relaxed vocal delivery and cushioned reverb make songs feel slower than they are The production choices polarized listeners. Some praised the "shimmering electronic details" and "Steven Wilson-esque acoustic lines" , while others felt the album was "too quiet, and too inert to ultimately be memorable," comparing it to "succumbing to a room full of scented candles" . --- ## Themes & Concept The "golden hour" concept—photography's term for the warm, flattering light just after sunrise or before sunset—permeates the album's emotional landscape. This is music about **finding beauty in transition**, **embracing joy without cynicism**, and **maturing into self-acceptance**. **Central thematic threads:** 1. **New love's vulnerability** — "Butterflies," "Golden Hour," and "Love Is a Wild Thing" capture the intoxication of fresh romance without descending into cliché 2. **Emotional duality** — "Happy & Sad" and "Wonder Woman" (which explores her own limitations rather than empowerment) acknowledge that contentment can coexist with anxiety 3. **Space and independence** — "Space Cowboy" offers a breakup narrative free of bitterness, while "Lonely Weekend" finds freedom in solitude 4. **Intergenerational connection** — "Mother" bridges time and geography through maternal bonds The album's emotional arc moves from the tentative optimism of "Slow Burn" through romantic intoxication, moments of doubt, playful release ("Velvet Elvis," "High Horse"), and finally to the reassuring warmth of "Rainbow." It's a journey that feels complete without being exhausting. --- ## Critical Reception & Influence *Golden Hour* achieved **universal critical acclaim**, earning Musgraves the **Album of the Year Grammy** in 2019—the first country album to win the top prize since Taylor Swift's *Fearless* in 2010. It also won Best Country Album and Best Country Song ("Space Cowboy"). The album's influence extended beyond country music: - It became a **crossover gateway** for listeners who "hate country but love this," expanding the genre's audience among indie and pop fans - It helped legitimize **genre-fluid country** in the mainstream, paving the way for artists like Orville Peck, Yola, and later Zach Bryan - Its **psychedelic country** aesthetic influenced subsequent releases in the "cosmic American music" revival However, the critical consensus wasn't unanimous. Some writers noted that the album's acclaim often came from "under-informed music journalists" who used it as "a cheap excuse to avoid delving deeper" into country music, while more experimental country artists received less attention . --- ## Pros & Cons ### **Pros:** | Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | **Vocal Performance** | Musgraves' expressive, clear tone benefits from smart multi-tracking and tasteful mix placement; the reverb-drenched production suits her register perfectly | | **Genre Innovation** | Successfully bridges country, pop, and psychedelic elements without feeling forced; creates a distinctive sonic identity | | **Emotional Accessibility** | The earnest, lovestruck content resonates universally; "Rainbow" became an anthem for LGBTQ+ youth and anyone needing reassurance | | **Cohesion** | Remarkably consistent tone and vision throughout—every song feels like it belongs to the same world | | **Standout Tracks** | "Space Cowboy," "Butterflies," "Slow Burn," "High Horse," and "Rainbow" represent some of her strongest material | | **Maturity** | Shows growth from the sarcastic observer of her early work to someone comfortable with vulnerability | ### **Cons:** | Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | **Lyrical Simplification** | Sacrifices the sharp wit and social commentary of *Same Trailer Different Park* for more straightforward emotional content; some tracks feel "underwritten" | | **Production Uniformity** | The dreamy, mid-tempo approach can make songs blend together; some tracks like "Wonder Woman" and the title track "fall flat" | | **Lack of Edge** | The absence of her characteristic sassiness might disappoint longtime fans; "the expected sassiness isn't really there" | | **Questionable Production Credits** | Heavy involvement from producers Tashian and Fitchuk in songwriting raises concerns about artist autonomy; some tracks feel "homogenized" | | **Disco Experiment** | "High Horse" and "Velvet Elvis" polarized listeners—some felt "High Horse" would have worked better as a "stomping hoedown" rather than disco | | **Memorability** | Some critics argued the album is "too quiet" and may not "stick with me in the same way" as more complex releases by contemporaries like Courtney Marie Andrews | --- ## Verdict *Golden Hour* is undeniably **Kacey Musgraves' most commercially successful and culturally significant album**, even if it's not necessarily her most lyrically ambitious. It represents a calculated risk that paid off—trading her reputation as country's cleverest satirist for something more vulnerable and universally accessible. The album works best when accepted on its own terms: as a document of a specific, fleeting emotional state (new love's glow) captured through a specific sonic lens (dreamy, genre-fluid country-pop). It's less successful when measured against her earlier work's sharpness or when seeking the experimental daring its "psychedelic" marketing suggested. **Final Assessment:** *Golden Hour* is a **beautiful, if somewhat slight, achievement**—an album that expanded country's audience and proved that earnestness doesn't have to equal blandness. It may not be her most enduring work, but it captured a moment perfectly, and sometimes that's enough to earn classic status. **Rating:** 8/10 (light)

I’ve heard a lot worse. Pleasant rather than life-changing. But perfectly competent, inoffensive, and interesting enough. Female vocal always helps.

This is one of my all-time favourite albums, so I shouldn't have read the reviews on here. Oh well, more Kacey for me! The perfect intersection of pop and country, this is beautiful and fun with not a single skippable track. 5 stars always.

Great album. I liked this better than what I have heard of Taylor Swift. Four stars

Pleasant country music.

This was a pleasant surprise, and change of pace.

Country music has always been a blind spot for me. At times there's been an artist or album that has gotten enough press that I've listened, and in some cases (Jason Isbell to name one) they've become favorites of mine. But mostly I have shied away from the genre. I was excited to listen to this today as I've been aware of the praise for her and for this record specifically. From the beginning of the first song Slow Burn I was hooked. I loved it musically and lyrically, and her singing was perfect for the song. As each song came on I was feeling the same way. I was smiling and realizing this was already falling into the category of not just a five star album, but one I might just completely love and want to listen to again and again. There was a country feel to all of it, but not in the overly twangy way that is my typical turn off. There's mixes of other genres, but none of it takes away from it being at heart a country album. There are too many highlights to name, as I don't think there is a single song that doesn't stand out in one way or another. Once again I got that feeling of gladness that I'm doing this project. The rest of my day (and probably week at least) is going to be a deeper dive into her music.

This is a Victoria Sponge of an album. It’s light, fluffy, and a bit unimaginative.

great voice, great production. but stylistically, i found this quite an uninteresting listen. it reminds me a lot of taylor swift. some of the lyrics were a bit cheesy too. but overall, it was alright.

45 minutes of boring, generic country music. Her voice is nice but every song sounds virtually the same, and some of the lyrics are just bad.

1.9 2x SLC to OAK 3/31. Good voice but not my thing

This is a masterclass fusion of pop, country, and witty singer-songwriter music. It’s an album you can put on at the beach, on a road trip, or on a rainy Sunday morning. Kasey’s vocals are fantastic throughout and are equaled by her songwriting. Slow Burn is a damn near perfect song, and immediately sets the tone and announces that this is no ordinary country album. Other than Kacey’s twang, I’m not sure it’s much of a country album at all. She takes the blueprint of Taylor Swift’s country music exit and perfects the formula. Lonely Weekend is a prime example, along with the fantastic title track. A masterpiece.

Meh. Not terrible. Just not really my type of thing.

Sweet one

Not my bag but I was very impressed. Bit samey after a while

Side one is sweet melancholia of the finest order. The production is gorgeous and Musgraves has just the right voice, both literally and figuratively, to pull it off. If side two had done it again I may have had to mention sameyness as a minor quibble, but instead we’re treated to the same skills of songwriting and melody set in more varied and largely successful contexts. The overarching tone manages to retain the don’t-take-everything-so-seriously vibe that seemed to be her calling card, yet the often understated presentation is packed with knowing abilities of a tight songwriting unit. If that implies the sound of a music industry cynical/clinical machine at work, the results are explicitly in opposition to that. If I have been tricked, I applaud the trickery. Country music is still (re)present(ed) on Golden Hour but this is unmistakably a warm pop triumph. As a result it’s not capable of making me a country convert. It does however stand up amazingly well next to some country adjacent albums I hold in huge regard.

Need to relisten I was eepy on the train

I might have been having a stroke but this was actually pretty damn good for what it is. It worked perfectly as a background music and I really enjoyed the album way more than I initially imagined. The last song however drops the album just in the zone of 3, almost was willing to give it a 4 but I think the energy dropped off for the end.

This album is basically the modern country equivalent of "Friday" by Rebecca Black. Overproduced to all hell. Bland, shallow, pointless lyrics. In fairness, she's a better singer than Rebecca Black, so this deserves slightly more credit, but I still think the comparison stands. It's mostly pretty easy to listen to, but it's also pretty dull. I want to rate it low because I really don't see why it's on this list, but my own system of rating is screwing me over. Going to just call it a low 3 and move on.

I enjoyed this much more than I expected too. She's got a nice voice and it's more like decent pop than country. Nothing stood out but I wasn't bored so Low 3

Pleasant enough country pop. Nothing wrong with it, nice enough but hardly essential

A real pleasant/relaxed listen although there is nothing remarkable on. 2,5

Kacey Musgraves has some good songs, but it seems none of them managed to make an appearance on this album. Her voice is so-so to my ears for the most part, and a full album of it doesn't sound great. The lyrics don't ever wow me, and a lot are just plain lame.

Smooth musique pop, écoute très facile et douce

Okay, didn't resonate with me particularly. A bit too country

I haven't listened to Kacey before, and wasn't quite sure what genre to expect, but my guesses were either pop or country. Turns out it's both, but to my utter surprise I found myself catching elements of Disco, RnB, Funk, Yacht Rock, indie, electronic stuff... Wow! The production and arrangements were phenomenal, and helped elevate the pop-country side of things to something new. Not quite top tier for me, but very close.

I'm definitely being too harsh but I just find this bland, even though it can be quite catchy and has some interesting production moments. What I've also realised is that as long as the music is interesting (even if it's not amazing) I'll find a way to like it, but I don't find this that interesting personally.

3.5

this album makes me feel like i’m trapped in the back rooms but it’s just a never ending Marshall’s. it’s not exactly a nightmare, it can even be cozy, but it’s just not that fun. But I understand that that can be a safe and sacred place for some people and that’s okay. She has such a lovely voice man and it’s perfect for the genre. I kind of want to isolate her vocals and just listen to that all day. The pacing of this album feels weird and idk why. The songs sort of blend together in the first half. I somewhat enjoyed Oh, What A World, and of course i really loved Happy & Sad. Velvet Elvis took me out though i didn’t get through the rest.

feel like this one will be divisive rlly thought i would like this more based on how much hype it got in 2018

A little too much pop in my country music, but it beats the hell out of Keith Urban bullshit.

I fell in love with a girl while "Butterflies" was playing in the car. I remember sitting in the backseat with her, butterflies filling my stomach as I worked up the courage to take her hand in mine. And I remember how I felt as we smiled at each other, in the way that only new lovers smile at each other. So, to anyone rating this album less than a 5, I ask: Have you ever fallen in love? She broke my heart lol

The worst thing about pop is its insistence on country. The worst thing about country is its insistence on pop.

"Golden Hour" the song is very special to me. Overall this is a fine pop record with a little hint of country here and there. A little bland and some moments feel a little bit auto-tuned to me. But it's not offensive or anything. Her voice is nice, the music is nice. Probably not much here that I'd revisit though. "Love is a Wild Thing" is kinda fun. "High Horse" is a little funky which is cool.

It's like listening to a really good support act at a gig. You will smile and nod politely, but probably won't listen to them again

Really nice album. I wouldn't choose it, but I wouldn't turn it off.

Great songwriter. Not my usual but won me over.

Really good stuff, a fresh take on country and she has a great voice. Some really great songs in here

Meh...

Definitely a lot better than most country albums. Unlike those other ones, Musgraves feels refreshing and brings something new to the table. That being said, it’s still country so it was just okay to me. A fine listen but not much more.

Bubble gum country. But nice melodies, great voice, topped with a couple of hits. I will propably never play this on purpose, but I had a good time listening to her now.

I never would've expected this on here. I like Musgraves's voice, but I think this is due to the fact that I worked at Claire's between 2015-2018, which makes me predisposed to enjoying this kind of music in an almost Stockholm syndrome-like way. Unfortunately, I need more pop in my country to really land, and this album was leaning more in the dentist's office waiting room direction. Not terrible, but I can only stomach these tunes within their context. 2.75.

The textbook definition of "lowest common denominator". This mindless commercial product managed to capture the worst traits of the music industry and the blandest, most impersonal musical trends of the time and fuse them into a pure diamond of stale emptiness. This type of music is clearly designed to be both totally innocuous and instantly forgettable - probably because its sole purpose is to act as soothing background noise that makes people feel all fuzzy and carefree when shopping or sitting in a coffee shop. As a matter of fact, I zoned out after a few songs, and couldn't remember what I was listening. I don't even hate it - it's so vacuous and pointless that my brain barely registers it. 1/10

The first song is nice... some are just soup.

Sounds like a 90s leftover, somewhere between Sheryl Crow and Heather Nova. I can’t see any impact on music here, if anything, it feels like a step backward.

I’m sure this album would speak to me if I were a 15 girl growing up in Oklahoma. For me it’s just plain awful.

I can’t tell where I fall on this. I remember when it came out and it was “revolutionary” for a major country start. Indicative of the indie influence. There are some places where that shines through. Instruments and song setup are inspired, fun and deep. But there’s still a heck of a lot of surface lyrics that can get dumb. Not a bad album overall but the shortcomings seem to become more apparent to me as time goes on

As good in 2026 as 2018. She just can really write a song

I'm waffling between 3 and 4 for this, going with 3 only because for me personally I'm just not a country fan so I wouldn't reach for this album often unless I was in a rare mood. There's not a bad song on this album, though, and if I ever move to the countryside and buy some cowboy boots and get really into country and ride a horse then I'll amend my review to a five.

A solid listen, with some catchy songs (Space Cowboy, Slow Burn). But I can’t help escape the feeling with this brand of ‘relatable’ pop that everything feels as if it’s been produced by a focus group, with all the small hints at different genres a little bit of targeted marketing. The pop culture references (‘horses’, ‘John Wayne’, ‘Elvis’, ‘cowboys’), all feel quite cliched ways to say ‘I’m southern!’. Listen to Waxahatchee or MJ Lenderman for some more complex and authentic indie/country crossover

This is a fairly decent country- and indie-influenced pop album rather reminiscent of Taylor Swift. Most songs were a nice enough listen, but none really stood out as exceptional to me. ‘High Horse' was probably the best track, being a bit more melodically interesting than the rest, but even that was just good rather than great. Other relative highlights included ‘Slow Burn’, ‘Love Is a Wild Thing’ and ‘Happy & Sad’. Overall, I thought it was a perfectly okay pop album that never quite took off; reasonably enjoyable in the moment but with little that will stick long in the memory.

Decent lil country piece

really breezy and pleasant listen - if i'm being totally real it's a 3/5 because i probably wouldn't go out of way to listen to it again but getting a trans british person to like a fucking country album is so impressive im bumping it up to a 4

Enjoyed

more like a 3.5 ... i liked this a lot more than i thought i would! unfortunately some of the songs sound so generic pop and do nothing for me. but there are some real gems in here

No molesta, pero no encandila

She has a great voice and everything it is just very outside of my usual taste so not so enjoyable

Always wondered where the music for teen dramas came from and now I know

Her voice is so smooth and beautiful. Not sure I would listen to this particular album again though

Country! Lol

I like country folk!

This feels like an album a Christian college freshman would feel deep listening to. The composition isn’t bad, but the lyrics are aggressively bad at times. Pleasurable enough of a listen but nothing I’ll be coming back to.

My wife listens to this a lot on a mix, so I was shocked to already know most of the songs without having known they were all by the same artist. Playing them all together in context formed a unity, where I could better understand Kacey Musgraves as an artist and as a person. She sounds like and dreams about the same ideals as girls I used to know as a kid in Ohio. In a way, this vibe was very nostalgic for me, and very comforting. Golden Hour has received a lot of flack on this site for being basic and bubble gum, but sometimes the heart needs that. I was charmed.

I already loved Kacey Musgraves, but this album just made me love her even more. Everything about this was great and I listened to it twice. The blend of country and electronic pop is so perfect, and with her angelic voice, clever/heartfelt lyrics and excellent recording/production, it was just perfect. Five stars.

Roughly four years ago, I considered myself a country hater. I wouldn't have even entertained the idea of listening to this album. I'm very lucky that I married a person with great music taste (even if it leans very country), and she introduced me to this album a couple years ago. To call this album purely country is kind of disrespectful to all of the things Kacey Musgraves and her co-producers did with this album to fill it full of elements of so many different genres and styles. All of that paired with Kacey's really beautiful, soft, and gentle voice makes this a really wonderful album to listen to. I have such a hard time picking out a favorite song from this album. There's one or two that are kind of "low points" in the album, but they're still pretty good songs, just not up to the same level as others. As much as I love this album, I wasn't expecting to give it a 5, but here we are. Favorite Song(s): Slow Burn, Butterflies, Space Cowboy, High Horse, Rainbow

Correcto

Pretty good for a country/pop album.

Far away from my music. Although I enjoyed a few tracks: - Love is a wild thing - High horses Otherwise too fabricated and generic lyrics for me.

Ble glad når jeg så coveret.

Fairly enjoyable.

My go to country album. ‘Lonely weekend’ is such a great track. However in comparison to tracks like ‘Butterflies’, ‘Oh What a World’ and ‘High Horse’, it pales in comparison. The butterfly metaphors on Butterflies are very apt and entertaining, the banjo! It works so well and the chorus in this track with ‘And you give me butterflies refrain is so fun to sing. Those three tracks are my favourites but the album as a whole is great. A modern country album, this is one of my quintessential summer albums so it’s a different to be listening to it in winter. Feels like the peek of spring. Rating 4/5- GEMV (16.02.2026)

Nice pop album with country flavour but nothing stood out.

Certainly not the style of country I grew up with, but her voice is wonderful, with good range, and the music is not trying to overshadow that voice. Solid album.

Nice change of pace to listen to something from an artist of my era. I enjoyed this one and will likely listen to it again, Kacey Musgraves has a great voice! Standout track for me is "Slow Burn" though the entire album is a solid cohesive body of work. 5/5 stars.

I like this as much as I will enjoy any country-pop album. This epitomizes a 3 1/2 for me. Gentle, pretty good voice, decent songs that all sound pretty similar

I liked the album but it’s still a country pop album which is not my genre so it would be hard to get something more than 3 stars from me.

I don’t really get why this is so well received. It’s fine. It’s quite pretty in a uninteresting way, like watching the sunrise from a motorway service station

I LOVE HER. I lover her timbre, her lyrics, her melodies.

Slow Burn 4/5 Lonely Weekend 3/5 Butterflies 4/5 Oh, What A World 3/5 Mother 3/5 Love is A Wild Thing 3/5 Space Cowboy 3/5 Happy & Sad 3/5 Velvet Elvis 3/5 Wonder Woman 3/5 High Horse 3/5 Golden Hour 3/5 Rainbow 4/5 Overall Albume 3.23

Boring. Also country. 👎

Enjoyable country candyfloss.

Incidental tracks from Virgin River / Gilmore Girls where the characters contemplate lost loves or deep introspection around their feelings etc. etc. etc.

Shes got a lovely voice. Really enjoyed the album

This took me my surprise, great collection of pop folk with clear and creative lyrics that lean country in a tongue in cheek way. Great album

didn’t hate but was shocked this was here??

A folksy easy listen.

Handwerklich hervorragend aber nichts für mich.

Seichte Popmusik

It was a real breath of fresh air to get to listen to a more modern album on this roll, which may have enhanced my listening experience, but I think this album stands on its own merits beyond that. I made sure to give it a few listens to give it a fair go, and really enjoyed it each time. There is some really great, lush production going on behind everything, and small instrumental flourishes here and there that add a lot to the sound. On top of that Kacey Mugraves' voice is just superb. There was a bit of a lull in the mid-section of the record, but its made up for by some really great tracks moving in and out of the top and bottom respectively. Fav Track: 4 - Oh, What A World Best Three Track Run: 1, 2, 3

Disco fraquinho, que não desperta interesse.

255M listens... never heard of her. I feel like I should at least heard about her even if I don't listen to her. never heard anyone mention her even. The music is basic late 10s pop with a country flavour. Space cowboy was kinda cool and i liked the chord progression in Rainbow. but it is not especially interesting

Pop and country. Great. The songwriting here is pretty damn cheesy. Can't say I'm a huge fan. But, it's sonically really lovely, and she has a pleasant voice. I did really like some songs here, even if I really hated others. Fave tracks: - Slow Burn - Lonely Weekend - Oh, What A World - Love Is A Wild Thing - High Horse - Golden Hour

Little girl voice. Dumb lyrics.

In this lightly twanged country-pop music, the music is simple but the setting is thick. It's deceiving. I listened twice through. At first, it was pleasant enough to catch my deeper attention. Then I started noticing little details. Flowing Pop Mercury, this album delivers it's point plainly with a sea of subtle intelligence that shows an uncommon power of the team working behind the record. In modern fashion, musical motifs switch between country-coded banjo-laden stomping, to "is this Balearic?" mid-tempo tom-drum-fill propulsion. The songwriting captures a just-post-naive femininity that gives Kasey's self-portrayal in "Golden Hour" enough innocence to make marveling at butterflies normal, while being self assured enough to draw lines around who she is and what she will no longer accept. A country sunset is beautiful and singular thing but it casts a lot of complex shadows. Kasey shows us the detail and beauty in those shadows without forgetting it's the sunset that brings them. The song writing is my favorite thing here. There's a hidden language of imagery packed into this album. It's simple-seeming, but each song unloads something from a small bag of tricks that the album carries. "Slow Burn"'s chorus is built around Kasey's voice, the titular two words get to breath, as if a candle flame consuming the oxygen of her breathy delivery. It flickers, rises, falls, and fades. "Space Cowboy" gets a fun little play: "I'll give you your space... Cowboy." It's dumb but not too dumb. "High Horse", similarly, rests on word play and delivers with excellent timing. I laughed out loud when I predicted the line that delivered one of the songs best dumb punchlines. I'll actually leave it to the listener/reader to find this one. You'll know it when you hear it. The vocal lift on "Butterflies" jumps up like taking aloft. These little details drew me in to the album in a way I didn't expect to be taken. This isn't music I'm "supposed" to like. I'm glad it's on the list. It is solid, modern, emotional, and full of musical skill. I feel a bunch of righteous cynicism to modern pop and country music for not being true to intention. The genres are full of corny decisions barely hidden from their aims of selling a record and making some money. "Golden Hour", while still a product of its industry, holds a candle for crafty songwriting that conveys emotion. It also teeters just on the syrupy edge of being "too nice so that everyone should like you" without falling in the honey.

Review - not bad for a modern country album. The more Americana-y tracks are good but the poppier tracks aren't for me. There's a cover of Slow Burn by Keller Williams which is really good, go listen to that album instead. Rating - 5/10 Need to listen? NO

I enjoy listening to Kacey Musgraves. There's something comforting about her voice. That said, some of these songs are repetitive. Most are country, but some are pop that could just as easily been performed by Taylor Swift.

Kacey's first album is one of the best country albums ever made. Kacey’s fourth album, Golden Hour, is also very good, but it isn’t five-star material. I like the more sultry direction, though it feels more like a shift in tone than an improvement. I’m a fan of Kacey’s work, but this one lands at three stars for me. That's not really a knock though. Rolling Stone ranks it at #270 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, which seems reasonable. For context, I’d guess there are fewer than 200 albums I’d personally give four stars or higher, and Golden Hour, despite its strengths, doesn’t quite make that cut.

So... A few songs from this are very fresh sounding pop music. The rest is a lot of "the same thing" you can hear anywhere else at the time. It's ok, it's nothing special. 3/5

Loved it, listened to it twice. I want to give it 5/5. but I just can't.

Love this album… no skips. Whenever I talk about a top albums, this one comes up. Full 5/5.

Some pretty right up the middle country pop. A bit boring overall, but it had catchy moments. There’s a reason I don’t listen to the slower Taylor Swift stuff, and that’s where most of this album landed. It was telling that I kept checking to see how many songs were left because I wanted to listen to something else. Felt like a very long 45 minutes. 4/10 Acceptable

Solid album

sounds like unseasoned chicken 2/5

Nett

3.1 Ok, I gave this one some serious airtime. First listen, really enjoyed the opening track. Very dream-pop, nice vibes. Then it got a bit country-pop/teenage girl ish, I thought whatever. Then I read it won the fucking album of the year award(?!) at the Grammy's. Admittedly I then went back through it and it seems they frequently give it to some absolute dross, but unlike Kanye or someone I didn't find this album offensive so thought I'd give it another two listens. After three listens then... It's fine. I like the more dream-pop/Beck elements over the country/generic-pop (Madonna, Taylor etc.) elements of the album. It's not a bad album per se, it's just pretty uneventful. Is this really the best album of 2018? If so, then fair enough. Feel like other than the odd new release by a modern band or artist I like I'm completely out of touch, and maybe that's on me. But it doesn't sound particularly exciting, but then again did Britney or anyone back in the day?

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

It's just kind of boring indie country pop stuff. It's okay I guess. "In Tennessee the sun's going down, in Beijing they're heading out to work" woah. I never considered that. so true.

5/10

Worth it for the final song, "Rainbow", which is an awesome piano ballad. The rest didn't stick with me at all, it's generic alt-country with lackluster songwriting and just okay-ish vocals. Not my cup of tea ...

not listening to modern country, not even giving it a chance

6 - AVERAGE

Didn't finish it. Bland

She's got a nice voice and the songs are very well constructed. Not my kinda jam, but objectively I think this one sits around a 3 or 4 for a ranking.

Nicely done. Pleasant AF.

Fantastic record. Cover to cover great. My only nits against this album are some of the parts that feel overproduced. But just a stunner of a record. 8.5/10

You know, this was a lot better than I expected it would be. Not something I would listen to again, but it was enjoyable.

This is a solid album. Nice vocals and some good sounds overall. A bit of a country/pop crossover. I think it’s a worthy entry on the list. 3.5 with a skew to 4

Pleasantly surprised

not the biggest fan of hers

Love the album. So cohesive and unique

She has a nice voice. Sweet but powerful. Definitely a chick album. Has some well written songs on it.

Country tinged pop with powerfully interesting chord progressions and big choruses - what's not to like

Pretty good pop/country album. Reminded me a bit of early Taylor swift. Lyrically it was lacking a bit still very catchy

(2.5) sounds like the soundtrack to a 2010-2015 mushy american romance film set in a european country that I would watch and then give 3.5 stars to on letterboxd and then see the reviews that say it was the shallowest worst film ever and so i change my rating to 2.5 because the reviews are right and i’m wrong, obviously but secretly i still quite liked the film on a slightly more sane note, i didn’t have any faith in it at all at first but it got better

this girls IQ is probably very similar to the average mosquito. this is the whiniest, most annoying thing i have ever put in my ears. Truly terrible forgettable music

Well that's 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back... This really reminded me of 'real women vote for trump' How has she got 16m monthly listeners. 1.5 rounded up

I've decided to give this one the benefit of the doubt with a 2 but might change my mind later on... The songs themselves were pleasantly mellow and easy-going, I just had issue with that ol' country twang that still seemed to creep into this comparatively modern album. I'm also of the opinion that some of these lyrics are somewhat brainless and nonsensical in an irritating kind of way - especially in the first song 'slow burn' which I definitely liked the least. Like what is this first verse!!!! Texas is hot, I can be cold Grandma cried when I pierced my nose Good in a glass, good on green Other than that, I enjoyed parts of it but probably not a relisten from me.

The slew of country albums lately has made me more adverse to them. This wasnt yeehaw cowboy country as much but it still had it's moments. The blend of country and pop was kinda weird. 2.5 rounded down

Just not for me.

Nice breadth in here and sound.

Buen balance entre country y pop

Mellow feminine country. Not bad but not made for me.

slayed! love

I thought this would be some country pop crap but it feels as if Taylor Swift actually had some depth.

Not for me

Not really my thing but I can see the appeal. The first few songs I was thinking it would be a lot better stripped down and less pop, but then the best song is Velvet Elvis which is pretty much pop. Butterflies is the other standout, but the rest isn't my jam, and High Horse was just awful

I was a little surprised this album was on this list, but I do think Kasey Musgraves is an important artist so I get it. Country is a male dominated genre full of absolutely garbage music (I say this as a country fan, I just think 95% of it now is terrible because it's bro-pop-country trash). So Kasey Musgraves is a breath of fresh air in the genre. This album makes you feel nostalgic for summers gone by. I also think the songwriting is better than most will give it credit for.

Not my style

The whole vibe of the album just gives me nostalgia even though it’s not one that came out when I was a child. The instrumentation just has a way of making you feel warm almost. I think this album will be a grower for me, I already knew a couple of songs before listening to the album the whole way through and I really like them I just don’t find myself gravitating towards them much but I do think there will come a time in my life when I will if that makes sense. So I expect this album could deserve a reevaluation when that day comes and maybe a higher ranking but for now I’m happy with where it’s sitting on my AOTY overall. 78/100

Love love the production. It’s so clean and clear in a way that supports her voice perfectly. She, like Dolly, reminded me what’s great about country. Unpretentiously relatable life issues. My only complaint is that some songs get a little same-sy. Highlight for me: Slow Burn, Mother, Space Cowboy, Wonder Woman.

Simply produced with an appealingly spaced-out and stoned vibe. The songwriting is not quite strong enough to sustain 13 tracks, but Musgraves' gorgeous, honeyed voice is adequate to keep me engaged when it starts to sound samey-samey or shifts to a less-original upbeat pop style. A sweet and relaxing sidestep away from contemporary Country. Favorite song: Love is a Wild Thing

How is this relevant to music history in any way?

Wow! Excellent!

Je sais pas si je réécouterai ça un jour, mais c'était LOIN d'être nul.

I'm partial to a bit of Taylor Swift so I'm open to country pop. Unfortunately I found the pitch of Kacey's Texan twang super irritating so I was unable to emotionally connect with any of the songs. I quite enjoyed some of spacey/ epic production - like on Space Cowboy so a point for that. But then a point deducted for the banality of the lyrics that were laugh out loud in many places - worst offender being Oh What a World.

Golden Hour I’m charmed, this album charmed me, particularly over the first half and towards the end, being a nice mix of country with pop accents and pop with country accents. Slow Burn is superb, my stand out, a lovely country-folk track with a keening atmosphere. Lonely Weekend adds some poppier percussion and is a really nice track. Butterflies is really nice too, the parping synth giving a spacey feel combined with the pedal steel. Oh, What A World continues with the spacey country vibes, the pedal steel giving it a great ethereal atmosphere. Mother and Love, Wild Thing, Happy & Sad aren’t as strong for me, although Mother is a solid enough ballad. Space Cowboy returns to the ethereal space country vibe and I like it, and it has a nice nod to Neil Young in the lyrics. Velvet Elvis, Wonder Woman and High Horse, successfully move into a more pop and disco feel, without losing the country fully, High Horse treading the line of Katy Perry and Jessie Ware. Golden Hour returns to the vibe of the opening songs and is another lovely track, and Rainbow ends things on a very pretty ballad with a nice progressive lyric. Although the more deliberately pop songs in the middle are good, I do find the spacey countrified songs more satisfying, and Slow Burn in particular I absolutely love, and overall is it has lovely shimmery, warm evening of a sound, blissed out, and drowsy in places, with the disco pop of High Horse as a pick me up. I’ll go for a 4, I’ve listened about 5 or 6 times and found more to enjoy each time, and another one I wouldn’t have listened to without the list. 🌄🌄🌄🌄 Playlist submission: Slow Burn

I found this a very pleasant listen. It made me recall Nancy Griffiths, but a more glossy version, whilst also aligned to Taylor Swift's 'evermore'. Butterflies' is to the more twee side, but her voice is cracking - no attempts to ham-up scales or runs, and just some lovely tone and falsetto. 'Oh, What a World' is the highlight, amongst a few highlights. A superb relaxed vocal, slide guitar, some vocoder - superb. Best not to read the lyrics mind you, as it reads a bit like 'Incredible Thoughts' by Lonely Island. I think this works because it does often overlap with the Laurel Canyon crowd when it comes to strong melodies. The tempo is generally a deliberate folk-pace and it's not smothered in random processed noises. That being said it's awash with a pop gloss, and when the balance goes awry it sounds a little throwaway. A high three nevertheless.

Deze mevrouw heeft pech dat ze net na Adèle komt. En dat het sowieso maar weinig zeggende, commercieel klinkende deuntjes zijn. Weinig kraak en ook niet al te veel smaak. We zetten verveeld de volgende plaat op.

Ik durf het hier bijna niet te schrijven. Maar dit heeft wat weg van Ilse de Lange. Een country-opzet, (gelukkig) zonder het bijbehorende accent. Er is weinig op aan te merken. Maar het heeff zo weinig kleur. Het zit ergens tussen de saaie 2 en de vergeetbare 3.

Ik dacht dat ik dit niet kende, maar het eerste nummer heb ik gelijk al wel eens gehoord. Bij de eerste tonen denk ik aan Taylor Swift en zoals jullie weten, ben ik groot fan van Taylor Swift. Maar het doet me ook denken aan John Mayer, het ligt heel lekker in het gehoor, vind ik. Het is countrypop, maar zonder alle dingen waar ik me aan erger. Misschien is dit soort muziek een guilty pleasure van me, maar ik vind dit erg fijn om te luisteren. Het is uiteraard goed geproduceerd, maar niet overgeproduceerd. En afgezien van een enkel Daft Punk vocoderstemmetje, komt er ook niet teveel poespas bij kijken. Na enige tijd beginnen de liedjes wel een beetje op elkaar te lijken en dat is dan wel het nadeel. Het is allemaal wat braafjes en er zitten te weinig echt beklijvende tracks tussen. En af en toe zit er zelfs zo'n veel te commerciele track tussen als High Horses. Ik hoor hem en denk gelijk: ja, dit is dus kut. Dan snap ik het helemaal als mensen dit een 2 geven ofzo. Maar deze modernere vorm van country is wel echt stukken beter dan die tandenknarsende palingsound van die koibois die we al te veel hebben gehoord in deze lijst. Nee, dan heb ik echt 1000x liever dit, dus laten we die brave, keurig geproduceerde, zoetgevooisde 3,5 afronden naar boven.

The lyricism is atrocious

Not a fan of country.

Some rock instrumentation can’t hide shit country music

There is not a single reason why this album should belong to this list. This is neither country nor pop, but something that sucks as much as country and pop do...

Nice little modern country record

Wow, I liked this way more than I thought I would. Really, this is the kind of experience that justifies this entire exercise -- there is a 0% chance I would have listened to this album otherwise, and I really liked it (this is the 4th or 5th time this has happened now, out of like 15 albums total).

Det är helt ok. Trallvänligt. Det är dock inte min kopp te. Kan inte se mig lyssna på detta. Men klandrar inte nån som njuter med en varm kopp te i sin hand................

Objektivt är det väl inget fel på mycket av detta egentligen. Bra producerat (största styrkan), hon har en trevlig röst och det är melodiöst och poppigt. Texterna är rätt usla dock, som så ofta i modern country. Det stora problemet är dock att det känns så generiskt, likriktat och förutsägbart. Redan ett par låtar in börjar jag ledsna och tappa intresset och det blir till slut ren transportsträcka - man vet precis vad som väntar och att det inte kommer några överraskningar eller variation. Det är aldrig direkt dåligt dock, så blir en svag trea, mest för produktionen.

Though there is nothing country about this, but it is decent Sheryl Crow type pop.

country, zum glück mit einflüssen von pop und elektronischer musik - für einmal nicht altbacken, sondern hörbar. schöne stimme.

Netter moderner Country. Aber was ist Unterschied zu Pop?

Didn’t quite like it, wasn’t my style, BUT it’s horrible how sexist some of the bad reviews are.

every song sounds the same 🤬💔😭 white girl ahh music 3/10 2026/1/11

just really not my thing

Actually decent country

It's interesting how her sound shifted through the span of this album. It started out so completely Country/ Singer Songwriter and shifted towards a more Pop sound. She's clearly talented, and I can see why she's popular enough for me to have previously heard of her without being a fan of her genres. I'd say this could be an easily accessible album for anyone who wanted to dabble in Country music but otherwise isn't a fan of contemporary Country.

Slow Burn - 3/5 Lonely Weekend - 3/5 Butterflies - 3/5 Oh, What a World - 2.5/5 Mother - 2/5 Love is a Wild Thing - 2.5/5 Space Cowboy - 2.5/5 Happy & Sad - 2.5/5 Velvet Elvis - 2/5 Wonder Woman - 2.5/5 High Horse - 3.5/5 Golden Hour - 3.5/5 Rainbow - 2/5 This album isn't bad per se, it's just incredibly generic. Too pop-y of a pop country album. There were very few actual country tracks, and the ones that I liked steered clear of that genre. She's a good singer, but the lyrical composition and production just aren't there for me. Not my cup of tea Overall: 2.5/5 Favorites: High Horse, Golden Hour

The first couple of tracks promise a surprisingly listenable Pop country album. Kacey has a wonderful sound and isn't afraid to explore different musical genres. That said, they all somehow sound the same. Slow Burn was really good, Mother was a decently put together tear-jerkier. High Horse got off to a good start, then decided to be humdrum. Rainbow has the beginnings of a sad story, but you can hardly hear any human pain or emotion in Kacey's pretty voice. A very sadly missed opportunity.

Well executed but not anything special

Damn this album is good. Plenty of songs that I've heard somewhere before, and a lot of warm, poppy country with great songwriting. High Horse and Rainbow are truly amazing ways to finish out the album with the decent title track sandwiched in the middle.

Of course I know this one well. Has some real gems! Shocked it made the cut. Both because it’s new and because well… star-crossed biased me against her and bleeds over to her other work. On this listen, though, reminded me it is a good one. Four stars because I think it’s great - but hesitantly because my familiarity gives it an unfair boost. Other 3 stars are more musically interesting but hard to fully appreciate in one listen.

Her fourth album. Country / Pop. Slow Burn is an apt name for the opening track. This album is slow and man does it burn your ears. The next track starts with the listing of the days of the week trope and that's about as good as the lyrics get on the album. This is soulless, inauthentic, auto tuned bilge.

This album is Spacey Kacey perfection. I relate to her so much on many different levels. This is definitely an album I could listen to many times and never skip a song. Also, props for finally getting a female singer from the list.

Pop, voice ok.

This is fine. I’m not sure I needed to listen to this before I died… but it’s clearly a huge record and she’s very popular. Her voice is great but the album is produced within an inch of its life and all sounds a bit bland. Musically not that interesting but a few nice songs on there. I’m reluctant to edge-lord it with a 1 star, so give it a 2 but it’s not far off.

This was nice but had a bit too much country twang for me.

I hate country so based on my enjoyment I would give it a 1, but there were far worse albums on this list, so it would be too harsh

Country, 2018 -> 2

I listened to this album a lot when I was living alone during lockdown, which could be why Rainbow still gets me a bit misty eyed. I think I needed someone to tell me it would all be alright, and Kacey Musgraves was as good as anyone. But I also think this is just a lovely, well-crafted country album that weaves in its indie and even disco influences in a subtle, skilful way.

GENERIC, IM SORRY, I DON'T GET IT.

I really enjoy this album. Something about her voice that is just incredibly fun and interesting to listen to for me. This is probably her best album. 4/5.

I don’t like it. I think her voice isn’t interesting and the lyrics are so basic and often just dumb.

I don’t think I needed to listen to this one before I died

I liked this album a lot more than I should have. Really not a fan of country, but it felt more pop with country elements. I read that Kacey wasn't a fan of making loves songs, but I found this album a lot more down to Earth and relatable and didn't feel over exaggerated sappy love like most do. There were two songs with a a banjo in the background, Slow Burn and Oh, What a World that really reminded me of another album from the 70's that I just cannot place. That's kind of the problem with doing this list. Listening to an album every day, I can't remember them all. But I liked these songs. High Horse was fun and has a good disco sound. Overall a great album that was quite emotional, optimistic and appreciative, which is a breath of fresh air.

Sehr wohlwollende vier Sterne... drei hätten es aber wahrscheinlich auch getan. Schönes Album.

Tolles Album und der Albumtitel passt perfekt. "Butterflies" der Über-Hit, aber auch ansonsten durchgängig auf hohem Niveau.

Ich schwanke zwischen 4 und 5, weil Country Pop jetzt nicht wirklich kein Genre ist, aber das ist schon eine verdammt gute Songsammlung, die hier geboten wird. In Summe gefällt mir das auch deutlich besser als die Country-Sachen, die ich von Taylor Swift so gehört habe.

Ich weiß nicht, ob ich nicht genug aufgepasst habe, aber da ist leider nicht viel durchgedrungen. Klang nach einer richtig guten Produktion.

Das ist zwar nicht meine Musik, aber versuchend, die objektive Brille aufzusetzen, kann ich eigentlich nichts wirklich Negatives daran finden (außer, dass es zum Ende hin dann doch wieder etwas redundant klingt). Hab's im Auto gehört und fand's echt ganz schön.

War nicht schlecht, war schon schön aber war auch nichts was ich nochmal anmachen würde

I could have easily gone the rest of my life without hearing this generic album.

Despite my initial disappointment that her song "Velvet Elvis" was not a Cover of the Weird Al song, I found this album highly enjoyable.

Painful - first album I didn't finish

Beautiful album. Did feel like it dragged a little. No bad songs on here. Female country singers are definitely better than male country singers.

What a load of shit

Good. Personally not something I would intentionally listen to again.

I absolutely loved this one. Really personal but relatable songs.

I like this album, I think it's very good, but I genuinely do not believe this to be a record you must hear before you die.

Great voice! I liked the country stuff the most, never been a fan of easy listening.

Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour seems to be a shining example of modern country music done right, and honestly I couldn't agree more. This project is sweet like honey and colorful like a bed of flowers, and doesn't hit any of the stereotypes most people associate with Country music nowadays. Instead Golden Hour embraces the uniqueness of Kacey Musgraves with her country twang added on as an extra flavor to the music. I think the Daft Punk like vocals on Oh, What a World did take me out of the album, but only slightly to question why they were there in the first place. This album sounds great otherwise with Kacey's vocals carrying the listener through the 45 minute runtime with such ease. It is a soft country pop album that I think deserves the praise it gets.

I’m gonna go on a tangent here - I’m not American and as such it wasn’t like country music was always around. Whe I tried to get into it the older stuff was boring and flat and the newer stuff just didn’t feel like it was for me. It seems that about a decade ago something shifted in country music, some artists drew deeper into the music’s roots like Tyler Childers, others refreshed their sound with influences from indie rock and modern folk like Kacey Musgrave. This makes for some great music driven by Musgrave’s excellent songwriting. Totally deserves a spot here and bumping it to four since I really enjoyed it.

Some really pretty songs, but got grating as it went on.

The most milktoast thing this side of Taylor Swift.

unexciting generic guitar singer songwriter

Perfectly mediocre. loses a star for being overly generic

The opening track is actually decent “Slow Burn”, the rest I lump in with the rest of bad modern country music.

Good

En ole oikein lämmennyt nyky kantrille, mutta ihan heleältä kuulosti. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oli kiva kuunnella! Todella miellyttävä ääni Kaceylla.

Not a fan of country

I was pleasantly surprised by this, not really into country music and I thought this chick was a pop star but this was pretty good.

Yuck.

More like 'Golden Shower'! It's a massive "NO" from me... Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ❌️ in part Revisit ❌️ Pointless ★★☆☆☆ (3/10)

Feared the worst when I looked up Kacey Musgraves and saw she did country. That said, this is more of a pop album with the taint of country looming large. Oh What A World was really good, on balance the songs were more good than bad, but some of the lyrics were godawful.

Not holding much hope for this from the description and reviews, but let’s see… I will copy another reviewers pasted lyrics to capture the quality - “Texas is hot, I can be cold, grandma cried when I pierced my nose” 🙄 Very basic and inoffensive. Cringe lyrics and contrived feels and depth. I don’t say this about many albums but this one I really can’t see why it’s here. Plenty of people that do this style and feel much better. Lyrics really are embarrassing. Like year 6 poetry class. I’ll give it my 3* which means it does its genre okay, not my thing and not offensively bad. Done after track 4

Perfectly pleasant, if inconsequential, country pop.

Meh, modern country but a bit better, def not my cup of tea

This is a great album - enjoyed and is not my usual sound

I liked this more than I was expecting. The production is great, it sounds very different than what I expect modern country to sound like. But, I didn’t really care for the lyrics at all. I can’t see myself singing along to these songs. High 3.

I love Kacey musgraves. I listened to space cowboy a lot senior year of high school. Also she sounds so good live too.

Going from the downward spiral to this is kinda funny. This was pretty uninteresting and I don’t think it should be on the list, but it’s a fine listen so It gets a 3

No standouts

A decent album. Maybe would've enjoyed more 4 years ago

4 Albums in a row that actually weren't in the 1,001 book. My playlist is incorrect!!

Enjoyed this one. She's a great songwriter. Highlights: "Slow Burn" and "Love is a Wild Thing"

Generic country pop from another Taylor Swift clone. This is safe, bland and forgettable. Even 24 hours later, I couldn’t hum one of the songs, but I remember not hating it. It’s was too boring to remember. She should be called Kacey Meh-sgraves!

Not bad, but too poppy