Kacey Musgraves - 2013 Anticipation

I want to say the last place she was booked to play here, before it got cancelled, was a mid-sized theatre. New upcoming winter 2022 tour has her playing an arena. Not what I was hoping for, and fwiw the Rolling Stone review of the new album makes me even less hopeful.

Or “Camera Roll,” which finds Musgraves channeling Jackson Browne

yoooooo

I don't even know what "channeling Jackson Browne" means, though in the case of Jackson Browne it generally means "makes me not want to listen to more than a few songs out of several decades of recorded output."

this is a weird album, unfortunately not a masterpiece like golden hour

there's some really good stuff but also lots of tracks that are just ok. despite the shift towards more pop-influenced textures there isn't anything close to a "high horse" attempt at a pop hit, and it's generally strongest when sticking to her roots. "if this was a movie" also has lovely ray of light-vibes, wish there was more of that

i like "justified" a lot -- i think there is a simplicity in the chorus lyrics in a way that hits extremely similar things to i.e. "happy & sad" that made me long for her bow-wrapped songs of yore but the melody actually stuck w/ me. i'm prepared to like this more than the reviews are indicating, tho i think she's prob bound to snap back a bit in terms of songwriting and i am looking forward to that. i've listened to golden hour several times recently and it's such a perfect lightning strike of an album that comparing anything else to it just seems kinda unfair

it's not a bad album at all but i very much understand why the reviews were generally a little underwhelmed

on my first listen -- love how "easier said" clearly takes influence from "The Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh

First thought is I’m not liking the mix on this. Seems flat, especially the drums.

Hum yeah I’m just finishing listening to it and… it’s not very good unfortunately.
It lacks the things that she’s usually so good at : smart, witty, charming lyrics and great melodic hooks.
There’s not a line or a hook that has left a mark on me.
I’ll listen again and may change my mind but so far it feels like her weakest album.

wish there were more moments like the flute solo on "there is a light"

"simple times" is the worst track on the album, really stilted melodically & has all of this album's flaws in one place

I had high hopes for "there is a light" as it starts well and sounds lusher than the rest but it doesn't really take off and the arrangement may be a bit silly by the end (including the flute !).
But I don't remember exactly so I'll have to listen to it again since it seems like the most ambitious track of the album.
The rest all seem to end before doing anything (and usually I'm all for short tracks !).
For instance "cherry blossom" is the same melody/lines "cherry blossom/tokyo" round and round without the melody being strong enough to carry it... during 2min.

yeah the songwriting is just never anywhere near as strong as her previous work, either melodically or lyrically

I haven't given it a listen yet, but I suspect this is another example of a what can happen when a breakthrough record suddenly earns someone a big new audience but also expectations that never really existed before. I kind if wish it was released without all the hoopla newfound attention brings, too. They're playing up the press-release "a story in three-acts" thing big-time, which is bad enough, but also it kind of irks me (just on a personal level) that this is being marketed as a divorce album specifically and not just another breakup album. Not only was she married for just two years, I honestly didn't even know she *was* married. And the end of a two-year marriage with no kids just seems ... I don't know, kind of small potatoes in the grand scheme of the last few years. Or maybe the likes of Laird and McAnally are just better at getting good stuff out of her than the new team?

Listening to both albums this morning, I wondered what Musgraves might've done with the new Low songs and vice versa.

xp it does really lean into the divorce angle a few times lyrically so i understand that marketing angle. the three-act thing is even on the back cover but it's pretty loose in actuality

i don't think it's that the songwriting team is any worse than before - it's the same team that co-wrote most of golden hour & produced all of it, but they've pushed even further outside their country comfort zone this time with more awkward results. most of the songs feel like solid starting points that could have been fleshed out further into something great, but just weren't.

This is much better than I expected. Reminds me conceptually, but also certain places musically, of Ray of Light.

btw I'm not a Musgraves fan other than of the debut I rarely play, and I'm not hearing much difference between the wan tunefulness of Golden Hour and this one.

there are songs that are pretty melodically reminiscent of golden hour, like "cherry blossom" and "if this was a movie", but golden hour really lets its songs breathe, while as aixtc said, the tracks on this one largely end before doing anything. like, "cherry blossom" could surely use a bridge to elevate it etc. instead of just looping the chorus for two minutes

To me, her previous work had such strong songwriting displaying her gift for great melodies and hooks (for instance "Butterflies" is marvelous) that this one is disappointing.
It's not bad but, yeah, the melodies don't... blossom !

“good wife” is sophistipop

enticement or incitement?

waiting to get my copy later today but twitter is not making me excited about playing it:

a lot of this kacey album sounds like the soundtrack to a 2001 jennifer aniston vehicle

— Natalie Weiner (@natalieweiner) September 10, 2021

new kacey album is not good. it’s not solar power level bad but uh nah

— metaltxt (@metaltxt) September 10, 2021

these ppl are full of shit

"simple times" is the worst track on the album, really stilted melodically & has all of this album's flaws in one place

also bizarre to me, great song tastefully arranged

Nothing really works in this album, and certainly not the Jethro Tull moment, it kinda hurts.
On the side of exceptions I have Simple Times, Justified and Keep lookin' up.

do y’all not love “easier said”??????

i’m not sure how i feel about this as an album sequence yet but if anything i think her melodic sensibility is more finely tuned than ever

“camera roll” is also devastating

amazing that the ppl trashing this record mention nothing from the second half at all

flute solo goes, turn the beat around

“good wife” is sophistipop

― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Friday, September 10, 2021 8:29 AM (thirty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is a sophistipop album

Need to listen to this a few more times but agree with Brad about the second half and he didn't even mention "hookup scene"

I agree about the second half.

(pronouns are they/she btw, working on the latter half of that) xp

god "hookup scene" is so good

Apologies and noted!

Seems like some of the criticism I've read has focused on the lyrics being too plain, lacking in the witty double-entendres and playful cliches she's deployed across her work. The cosmic, sunbathed, iridescent sound of Golden Hour was also innovative and fresh and felt like a new space for both pop and country...I don't think this is different in kind but clearly "radiance" was not what they were going for on her divorce record.

Personally, while I truly adore those first three records, I found the cute cliches were wearing thin with writers like Musgraves, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, and Brandy Clark leaning into them too often. I like how writers like Emily Scott Robinson and Katie Pruitt are writing searing personal stories with plain spoken words from distinct POVs and was hoping to hear more Kacey in this record. Going to have to give it another spin but the melodies seemed perfectly strong to me...

I'm not a fan, but thought I'd listen in light of these comments. I agree with those saying the songs feel more like sketches or almost-songs that could have used fleshing-out.

(The lyrics are also awful, IMO, and she is not a good singer)

this album rules, brad otm. 'there is a light' is balearic af, her audience doesn't deserve her

nb my only previous exp with kacey musgraves is enjoying slow burn and high horse and not getting into the rest of the album

“good wife” is sophistipop

specifically it really reminds me of the last natalie prass album and i wish the album as a whole pushed more in that direction. i am a big fan of the sophisti-pop & balearic touches across the album just wish they were stronger if anything

the first 4 songs leave me pretty cold but this really kicks into gear right around "justified". "breadwinner" in particular is awesome -- it's really the inverse of "high horse" in that she's on her's but also bcuz the production feels organic and detailed as opposed to sounding like she opened up a 99 cent can of something labeled "disco." from "camera roll" on i think the songs start to map along the contours of her past music in a way that feels familiar and comfortable. "easier said" and "hookup scene" have an ease of motion between sections that feels trademark her even if the arrangements and lyrics are going somewhere new, a bit more broad.

that initial section it feels like they're spinning their wheels in terms of the production but as the album goes on it does take on a distinct form that is different from golden hour imo, it's more layered, a bit knottier, but also i think they got better at what they're trying to do in several places. "breadwinner" and "there is a light" (practically a todd terje song!) stand out as tracks that actually make golden hour feel like a prelude to something richer, which i didn't think was going to be possible going into this album.

there's a tiny bit of the flute solo in "there is a light" that sounds like it's referencing the flute riff in "down under". thankfully not the part they got sued over though, hope men at work don't sue her either.

i want to be clear that i do quite like this album, just have probably been a little harsh bc it's following up a masterpiece & there's so many ways this one could have been much greater instead of just merely good. i really miss the bridges & instrumental breaks that gave the songs on golden hour more room to breathe & more of that would have fit so well with the vibe she's going for here. "there is a light" is one of the few moments where it really goes for that & it's a real highlight as a result. "good wife", "if this was a movie", "angel", "camera roll", "easier said" and "hookup scene" are all really good too.

i still really dislike "simple times" though it's so plodding & stilted it makes me think of weezer at their most mediocre

metaltxt is an ILXOR, right? who is it?

I honestly didn't even know she *was* married

for whatever it's worth, her ex's last two albums are *excellent* if you have any interest in hooky Americana/rock songs about being a major fuck-up and feeling bad about being a major fuck-up and trying to move past being a major fuck-up. both are among my most-played albums of the past few years:

Dying Star (2018): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_myPyJ2Mth_R-_RXKOgIfs3OHYnkA_CCn8

Shape & Destroy (2020): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1byb4iuVdwKRYTfnB8RVR6qCDLV0hHwt

He has not yet made a divorce record ... I assume that is coming next, or he'll just push it all down and continue to write about what he's been writing about.

Cool, will listen! I should have expected better of Musgraves, but I just figured he was some bro-country Blake Shelton type or something. Of course, now she us dating some marketer/model/influencer or something, right? That's a business card I can't get behind.

He's definitely not bro-country. He's also not exactly endearing in a warm and fuzzy cutesy faux-indie Kacey Musgraves sort of way. He seems like he's been through some tough stuff and he has a chip on his shoulder.

He may not be for you, of course. I just think he's got a lot of great melodic ideas and his lyrics are good enough for me.

The first half of Dying Star is particularly strong, imo. Shape & Destroy doesn't reach quite the same heights, but is more consistent.

On the latter in particular, you can hear his love of punk and emo coming through loud and clear in places. And in between the albums, he released an EP of covers: Dashboard, Saves the Day, Blink-182, "Teenage Dirtbag" ... and he did a good (faithful) job w/ Taylor's "All Too Well" ... they're all in this playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1byb4iuVdwKBZcinPCnjaOwL8ENS5GS3

i do think he released one of the 15ish best albums of 2018, but not even the best album to come out of his household at the time.

anyway, back to Kacey. maybe someday there will be a Ruston Kelly thread...

“If this was a movie” sounds like Lori Carson

So I was right about "Justified," I was happy for it to show up in the run of the album. That chorus is a kicker. I like the album overall, I would love for it to be more space disco. Maybe there will be remixes.

Finally listening to this, it's ... fine. I think "Camera Roll" (playing now) is the only that's kind of clicked with me so far. I agree the songs sounds too weirdly underdeveloped. I think it intriguing that Alfred brought up Low, because those songs on the new album are super spare and simple yet the group found novel ways to expand them and make them interesting. Here it all feels kind of abrupt.

Anyway, my wife's hot take (especially after meh reactions to Waxahatchee and Faye Webster yesterday): "why does everyone have to be so quiet and boring?"

BTW, my fave overlooked country break-up album is Allison Moorer's "The Hardest Part."