Kacey Musgraves - 2013 Anticipation

I like how "Biscuits" is basically the same song, but different. When I saw her play it live, for some reason I didn't think of "Arrow." And when she did "High Time" live, I definitely got the Hawaii vibe, too, which is one reason why I described the feel of the album as kind of beachy. That could potentially position it for a summer crossover, but it's so mellow and not rock the boat that it sort of smooths itself into a corner. Again, not bad, often lovely, lots to like, sounds like her, just not assertive enough to make an impression other than the fact that it doesn't make much of an impression. That is disappointing, even if little on the record is objectively sub-par.

Will I curse things if I concede I've got high hopes for the new Ashley Monroe?

OMG, I was playing the album for my wife, who is a HUGE fan of the last album - like, a weekly listener - and she mentioned this morning that "one of the new songs is the same as one of the old songs, just with different lyrics!" She meant is as a complement, actually.

http://www.stereogum.com/1804629/shamir-merry-go-round-kacey-musgraves-cover/mp3s/

also, via factcheckingcuz:
http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/05/27/sexist-tomato-barb-launches-food-fight-music-row/28036657/

(also too much time on ilx but i could only think of http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?action=showall&boardid=77&threadid=72829 )

The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that.

Yeah, lame-ass fast food iceberg lettuce.

shamir is such an irritant

dunno about that but i'm not feeling that cover

OK, this hit the spot a bit better tonight (thanks, beer!), but I think the problem is not really that it's trite but that its production choices and arrangements are too timid. By choice, sure - she made the decision - but it hurts the album, imo. There's only one outright stinker, "Late to the Party" (which sounds like Norah Jones covering "Tears In Heaven") but the rest are pretty solid songs crying for a little more oomph and diversity.

she played "Family Is Family" on Seth Meyers the other night, really like that one

First listen after a long day and so far this is really hitting the spot

the strings and handclaps on the opener seem like pretty clear signs?

y'all got me ready to feel underwhelmed by this but the first three tracks rule? especially "late to the party"?

There's only one outright stinker, "Late to the Party" (which sounds like Norah Jones covering "Tears In Heaven") but the rest are pretty solid songs crying for a little more oomph and diversity.

lol nahhh

"miserable"! and "die fun"!

haha i haven't listened proper yet but i DID find myself thinking '… this sounds like tears in heaven…'

revisited it with "tears in heaven" deliberately in my head and again nah

Whatever "Late to the Party" sounds like, it's about 15 minutes too long.

it's so sweet!

anyway

Will I curse things if I concede I've got high hopes for the new Ashley Monroe?

i also have high hopes, the title track is incredible

imo the weakest song here is the title track and it's still pretty charming. i would suggest the album is maybe compromised by her writing from a more general perspective but the most egregious example of this, "somebody to love," is completely gorgeous and precise, so lol

precision is what this album really lacks to me, i hear her singing about cardboard characters and simplistic archetypes (of places as well as people) and hardly any of the nuance that made STDP so special. it sounds like an album made by someone who knows that the mainstream know her via katy perry. sort of disappointed by how low it aims, mostly: lots of easy-to-hum songs, hardly any easy-to-love songs. "good ol boys club" and "fine" are slightly better i guess

lol y'all made this sound like 13 "follow your arrow"s in a row and maybe that's why i'm surprised by how vivid and effective it is

anyway it sounds like an album made by someone who knows that the mainstream know her via katy perry is not what i get from this record at all and is really uh :\

even the more intimate songs are trite though, almost every song follows the same formula, i don't hear anything vivid here

and SO MUCH peppy repetition where STDP had so many lines that surprised me or undercut what had gone before or took the song in a different direction...like i feel you pretty much know where every song on this album is going from its title and first line

there are verses and choruses on this record, true

will say there's no image as flexible here as "blowin' smoke"

OK, I've got my copy. Let's seem how many of you fuckers are wrong.

i also think this record is great musically

It's certainly ... tasteful.

"Pageant Material" is the first cornball thing she's written.

"This Town" is Miranda Lambert's "Famous in a Small Town" and "Fastest Girl in Town" but I love the arrangement.

and using the Killers trick too

I never want to hear "Somebody to Love" again.

don't you want some 'somebody to love' to love?

y'all are so weird

I just listened to it once in my workplace, but it doesn't seem as awful as everyone is telling. from a first listen (without too much attention, i know) i had a good impression of it. It's not a STDP, but it's probably very good.

"family is family" is easily the worst thing here right? sets my teeth on edge

"cup of tea" is almost laughable, like you're really going to write this song AGAIN

"this town" does sound lovely but i feel that the group of artists musgraves comes from has portrayed small town life with so much more depth and nuance already

"late to the party"is a really sweet song -- nice to hear a straight up love song from her

"pageant material" and "this town" are a bit of a speed bump but otherwise i think this is pretty strong -- not as good as same trailer but also enough of a sidestep that i think it works on its own terms

it's a sweet and graceful album

I've got a discussion on my FB wall with a few critics about McAnally, Clark, Musgraves, queer in country, the lapse into cuteness, etc.

"Miserable" is my favorite today.

i didn't like the first few songs i heard - so much strummyness - so i'm just gonna let this happen when it happens

j0rd otm.

If you set a low bar I guess she's cleared it, sure

think this album is straight up great ... i don't think it sounds like same trailer!! i wonder if people would be making such a connection if we didn't know it was written at the same time

i also can't understand all the hate... 'miserable', 'die fun', 'dime store cowgirl', 'good ol' boys club' are as great as some of the best moments of 'same trailer'. and listening her with willie nelson in the end is gold.

idk why i thought "pageant material" wasn't good, the first 4 tracks are literally perfect

I haven't read any "hate" for this album. It's tuneful and disappointing.

it doesn't sound like same trailer. the arrangements are way more relaxed

Song for song, it's catchier and richer than ST. Like lex, I have a problem with how on the nose these songs are, how she (sill) relies on the cutes. "Cup of Tea" is the nadir. It’s 2016, rural America’s changing, and changing fast enough so that Musgraves can be less indebted to a wink-wink conceit.