Kacey Musgraves - 2013 Anticipation

yup

Butterflies is nice, too...though I can't figure out if I've heard it somehow or if it's just very 'Kacey Musgraves song'

very promising! when was Space Cowboy released?

wow. both great, imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GKhw3lLNLk

"space cowboy" in particular is beautifully arranged

i'm not really sold on "butterflies" but whatever

Space Cowboy is terrific. Pageant Material didn't stick with me that much so I have hopes for this one.

same

there's parts of "butterflies" that sound like 'redbone" and it trips me out

Love the vocal delivery on “til you bought me out of my chrysalis”. Maybe part of how nice it sounds lies in it being a word you don’t normally hear in a pop song, eg ITS CENTRIFUGAL MOTION.

New songs are really promising, can’t wait for the album.

“space cowboy” is gorrrrgeous

yep. also it made me revisit sarah buxton's "space" which is still great too.

velvet elvis sounds great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E8Ap6rcr14

First two songs are excellent and showcase everything I love about her - clever, playful, and imaginative, and man can she write a hook. Her melodies have always stood out.

Worth noting that her supporting cast has changed a lot. Every song on the first two albums (with the exception of the Willie Nelson cover) were cowritten and produced by some combination of Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally, Luke Laird, Brandy Clark, and/or Natalie Hemby. And there were a lot of other talented people in the room - Misa Arriaga (who seems to have split with her romantically & professionally), Charlie Worsham, Kree Harrison...

From what I can tell she's mostly collaborating with a new team, and a lot of her band has changed.

Interestingly, both of the two lead singles (and Velvet Elvis) were cowritten with the McAnally/Laird/Hemby, so I'm interested to see if the rest of the album holds up.

I don't care for "Butterflies" but holy christ "Space Cowboy" is a great tune

space cowboy is a great track

i usually listen to albums on spotify before buying them but this one is not on there yet

Album's out March 30th.

I'm mildly anticipating it. I liked the debut, but she's the least interesting singer and writer of the Miranda Lambert Pack; certainly she's the pick for those who think Lambert, Ashley Monroe, Brandy Clark, etc are too country.

what's the miranda lambert pack and why would I find something too country?

STDP is all time

i wasn't gonna go there but i don't find brandy clark particularly too country, she has a very dance-y/pop hits sound

Yeah KM is also the pick for those for who love country music but whose tastes run more to KM than Miranda Lambert or whoever - that's just the way taste runs. If Kacey also appeals to people who aren't that interested in country, that's cool with me.

I think Kacey is pretty country, at least as much as Monroe/Lambert/etc., all of whom have been pushing at the boundaries of pop and rock in imo more aggressive ways than the more chill Musgraves.

I think so too - tbf Alfred didn't say she wasn't, Alfred said KM was the pick for people who found Brandy Clark and so on too country - I am guessing Alfred knows or reads such people and isn't strawmanning on some authenticity-is-better kick, because that's not really his game AFAICT.

Authenticity? Moi? I'm wearing Target boat shoes.

Musgraves is Western swingier than the others, none of whom have been Austinites to my knowledge, and has alt/pop aspirations, but not sure why those are necessarily any less country/traditional than Lambert's rock tendencies or Monroe/Presley/Clark's sometimes-countrypolitan, which can sound particularly folky in Clark's non-Southern voice.

If we must rank, then I do prefer Monroe and Lambert a little bit (for different reasons) (Clark and Presley a little less - though I loved Wrangled from last year), but I think there's a risk of acting like all of these performers are doing the same thing, or focusing on the surface level stylistic differences rather than some of the more subtle differences between them. The biggest reason I can imagine someone loving Musgraves most of all is that (at least on STDP) she is arguably the tightest songwriter of the five, there's a "just so" elegance to tunes like "I Miss You" that really stands out to me at least; some listeners might dislike that of course, but it doesn't really map onto a more/less country continuum IMO.

(although based on the above-cited comment from Kacey about resisting wrapping up every lyric "in a little bow" this may actually be less true of her forthcoming album)

oooh Like a Rose is as tight if not tighter, I think.

IT's not that they're doing the same thing necessarily; they share songwriters and producers, though, which means a certain aesthetic concordance. Tom Petty and George Harrison and Roy Orbison were vastly different performers and songwriters, but Jeff Lynne's production made them sound like brothers, or at least Wilburys.

Not the greatest recording, but she posted a couple minutes of "Rainbow" from Glasgow. Missed this as the closer on the tracklist.

“Rainbow” will be on the new album March 30th 🌈☔️ I love this song so much. Was my Memaw’s favorite before she passed and we played it at her funeral. It’s for anyone with any kind of weight on their shoulders. pic.twitter.com/sXvLoKhmKL

— K A C E Y M U S G R A V E S (@KaceyMusgraves) March 13, 2018

This is an older tune. Here's a couple of solo performances from 2013 and 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kWHBJ7TsMg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfMZ6G0ztiI

yes i remember her performing that one when i saw her in 2013. it is a really nice song :)

fuckin

excuse me????

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fjfo256p6s

from these three songs: album of the year

hahahahaha ... i knew she was slow playing the non-country stuff. this gives me great hope.

song sounds good but I don't think the lyrics go to well with the vibe

"High Horse" makes it two for three for me

OMG

nice

whoaaaa

(3 for 3 imo!)

That's like Phoenix doing country.

yeah the first few seconds sound like air france or something

lol otm

a bit 'Love at First Sight' too

this song is def an outlier on the album in the sense that it's her doing something experimental in a very specific way. the album in general more or less sounds nothing like the other two but in ways that i think are more natural & organic. "high horse" does give an idea of how fun the production on the album is tho.

love at first sight was what i thought of too or daft punk...it gives me country futurism vibes through its use of country signifiers which is funny

awesome song

I meant through its use of RETRO signifiers. not country

its odd how certain retro signifiers convey 'futurism' in a country space, what i mean

This is kind of what I'm hoping Kylie's Golden will sound like?

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/26/595765776/first-listen-kacey-musgraves-golden-hour

this is so good

there's an occasional clunky line but man this just sounds so good

otm