Kacey Musgraves is an artist I had heard nothing about until earlier this year when my Spotify playlist shuffled just the right way, and I heard one of her latest singles “Deeper Well.” I might have just found one of my favorite country artists, which is not much of an accolade, as I do not listen to country music, and I am not well-versed in the genre. Besides the queen Dolly Parton and her blessed hits “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” my recent interest in country music revolves around Beyonce’s Act 2 album “Cowboy Carter” and the recent buzz surrounding that.
I have found country music to generally not have any depth for a genre that ties so much of a persona to their music. When I would randomly listen to country, all I would hear were songs that seemed to follow the same formula of a jilted lover, some romance lost or some gimmicky adventure.
I was pleasantly surprised by Musgraves, as she joins standout country artists like Dolly Parton country queer, and Reba McEntire pride source who show public support for the LGBTQ+ community. I figured she was a decent artist from her Spotify statistics, but her support for the LGBTQ+ community, along with her music being a good blend of pop and country, with topics that I found more relatable, sold her artistry to me.
Musgraves won Album of the Year at the Grammys for her album “Golden Hour” in 2019, facing backlash from some core country fans due to her politics and embracing her femininity beyond the typical conservative countrywoman you’d expect to hear in current country music. Musgraves shows no signs of slowing down, and her latest album “Deeper Well” is a clear sign of that.
Though the album is good in its entirety, I’m going to give summaries of the songs that stand out to me, as I related to them the most out of the album. I found myself unsure of the album at first, having only heard one song from Musgraves, but I was not disappointed. This album depicts honesty about life, love, spirituality and made me feel connected to Musgraves in many ways.
“Deeper Well,” the second track and album namesake, is my favorite song. It introduced me to Musgraves and has such a feel-good quality to it, as she talks about prioritizing herself and saying goodbye to relationships with people who don’t serve you. It is a very relatable song and makes you think about your own life and evaluate the current relationships you’re in.
“Giver/Taker” explores the depths of love and how much we are willing to give and expect to receive from a relationship. For a lover boy like myself, it reminds me of the high points of love where you just want to give your all.
“Sway” explains how Musgraves wishes she could bend with the storm and troubles that come in life like many of us rather than acting rigid or breaking down. The end has humming sounds reminiscent of breathing exercises in yoga and makes her words sound like a mantra. Indeed, she will sway like the palm trees rather than break as a result of the force of challenges that might come.
“Heart of the Woods” highlights communal care for one another within a core group. This could mean anything to listeners, but for me, it reflects how I care for someone similar to me having a foreign experience. If an individual appears to be a tribe of one of my identities, I naturally would step in and be there to look out for them if I sense a need. It seems simple, but I liked the message that it is like us as humans to look out for one another.
As someone slowly getting into crystals, “Jade Green” was such a good song about the overlap between love, spirituality and crystals. It also has a natural feel-good vibe to it, as you feel warm and present when listening. “The Architects” was another track on spirituality and the unknown of it all, it is an honest melodic view of what we know as humans and how we view the world. “Heaven Is” ties love and spirituality in again, but is truly another lover boy song for me. If you don’t know what heaven is, you’d like to see your love as heaven on earth. Reminds me a bit of “Say Yes to Heaven” by Lana del Ray.
This album is a 3.5 out of 5 goats and a must-listen for anyone trying a new genre like myself, or trying to tap into the current country fever going on this year.
