Kacey Musgraves received rave reviews for her folk-pop album “Deeper Well”. Critics describe the music as an uplifting and refreshing experience, likening it to the purity of mountain air.

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Kacey Musgraves has given up using marijuana. In her sixth album’s stunningly beautiful title track, the country crossover star sings about her past habit of waking and baking. She reflects on how everything seemed better when she was high, though she cannot explain why. Fans may not be surprised by this as the 35-year-old has previously admitted that her 2018 album Golden Hour was influenced by LSD and that her next album, Star-Crossed, was shaped by a guided trip on psilocybin mushrooms. However, on Deeper Well – an album filled with the vibrant energy of 1960s folk music and a sense of wondrous nature – Musgraves still sounds like she’s under the influence. But this time, her drug of choice is love – a love that is new, genuine, and self-discovering.

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Musgraves, as you may have inferred, is not your typical country singer and has been different for quite a while. She is a rare Nashville artist who gained recognition internationally and became a breakout sensation in the 2010s, known for her unique portrayals of small-town life and vocal support for the LGBTQ+ community. With her album Golden Hour, a tribute to her then-spouse, she added elements of electropop and disco to her sound and won a Grammy for album of the year. Star-Crossed, inspired by her subsequent divorce, was a more reserved and, for some, underwhelming follow-up, but it solidified her position as a mainstream artist who can thrive beyond the confines of country music while still maintaining its signature sonic characteristics – a similar trajectory to that of pop icon Taylor Swift.

In contrast to Swift, Musgraves places greater emphasis on creating a certain vibe rather than achieving widespread chart success. On the track “Deeper Well,” she appears to have shed the weight of expectations surrounding her post-“Golden Hour” album, as well as the constraints of country music and dwelling on her past relationship. She now revels in the healing power of nature and self-care, with nods to themes like Saturn returns and jade crystals. This mindset is reflected in the record’s mountain-inspired sound, blending Americana and new-wave influences with acoustic guitar reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel. The opening track “Cardinal” is a shining, instantly catchy reflection on grief, hope, and cosmic love that could easily be mistaken for a lost Fleetwood Mac gem.

The highs on Deeper Well are immensely high – these are two of the most satisfyingly beautiful songs you’ll hear all year. Yet elsewhere Musgraves’s attempts to channel earnest simplicity fall spectacularly flat, with dashed-off literality masquerading as profundity. She marvels sentimentally at the engineering of an apple on the irritatingly twee The Architect and descends into inadvertently amusing basicness on Dinner With Friends, which features an amazingly banal eulogy to her “home state of Texas, the sky there, the horses and dogs”. (It is admittedly followed up by “but none of their laws”, a rare moment of progressive bite.)

The album quickly reveals that instead of a bold declaration of independence, it is partially influenced by a happy romance that has since ended. This could explain why Musgraves seems infatuated with the world in a naive manner. In the middle of Dinner With Friends, her vague enthusiasm shifts toward her partner and the album frequently returns to this theme. However, the results are mixed. The song Anime Eyes cleverly plays with Japanese genre themes before reaching a frenzied climax with references like “Sailor Moon’s got nothin’ on me!” However, many other songs feel like a fake, staged display of a couple’s relationship, with Musgraves waxing poetic about her blissful romance in unoriginal ways. The underwhelming track Too Good to Be True exemplifies this with lines like “Made some breakfast, made some love, this is what dreams are made of.” The accompanying melodies don’t make up for it either. While Musgraves’ crystal-clear vocals and classy melodies sell some generic folk-country ballads, they can also veer into dullness. The exception is Lonely Millionaire, which showcases Musgraves’ irresistible, sultry 90s neo-soul sound.

It is uncommon to come across an album that reaches such heights in songwriting, exemplified by the remarkable combination of Cardinal and Deeper Well, only to then descend into complete mediocrity. This album demonstrates that the border between splendid simplicity and empty triteness can be unexpectedly fragile.

Source: theguardian.com