BY NICK CANTWELL

You could describe Kacey Musgraves as one of the most fascinating artists within the realm of country music. In the early part of her career, she made an incredible impact with her Same Trailer, Different Park and Pageant Material albums, but then along came Golden Hour in 2018, which at the time seemed a huge shift in her sound. This third album went global, giving the Texan the all-genres album of the year at the Grammy Awards, but almost more importantly, a vindication that Kacey was able to make an almost radical change in her music, and pull it off with fantastic success. Star-Crossed followed in 2021, an album that could be described as the come down break up album after the glow of Golden Hour – an album that didn’t quite reach the ambitious heights it was potentially set up for. However, in some ways, those two albums, along with new release Deeper Well, sit together perfectly, as a story of love (Golden Hour), hurt (Star-Crossed) and reflection and understanding (Deeper Well).

In an age where many want to box artists in a genre, Kacey Musgraves steadfastly ploughs her own furrow. From the opening bars of Deeper Well you get a sense that she has been inspired by a wide range of artists, hearing snatches of music that could echo artists as wide-ranging as the Mamas and the Papas, Fleet Foxes and The Flaming Lips. 

The album opens up with the beautiful Cardinal, the scarlet-red bird is visiting with unsaid words from a now departed friend – ‘Cardinal, are you bringing me a message from the other side?’ The song brings up a sense of awe and wonder in the natural world, a message that is both repeated throughout the album and in the artwork for the release.

Deeper Well, the title track, is up next, and this song really takes you to the crux of the album. This song, which listeners got to hear as an early release, sees the artist look back at her life and ponder how things have changed since she hit the age of 27. This song is about removing any toxicity from her life, whether that be ‘dark energy’ people or indeed marijuana. ‘For a while it got me by, everything I did seemed better when I was high …’. By the end of the song, you have a real sense that Kacey has found herself, and there’s way more to her because of it.

Too Good To Be True displays a vulnerability in love for the singer, aptly followed by Moving Out, an introspective look back at her relationship with Ruston Kelly. Giver/Taker is the third song in a mini love trilogy within the album, highlighted by the yearning ‘If I could take only as much as I needed/ I would take everything you have’ lyric.

In listening, the album moves by quickly. Deeper Well, is the longest track of the album at just under four minutes, with every other track coming in at around three minutes or less. This gives the album a pace to it, although the gentle and relaxed vibe that emanates through the release is almost in contrast – many of the songs have a level of depth that make it almost a surprise that so short a time has passed.

Sway is a song about finding acceptance and becoming at ease with herself/yourself, a low key, finger-picking track that is elevated by sumptuous backing vocals. Dinner With Friends sees Kacey listing some of her favourite things – look out for the mention of Texas, with something of a political swipe in amongst the love. Heart of the Woods and Jade Green both lean towards nature – and lead-in nicely to the fantastic back end of the album.

The Architect and Lonely Millionaire sit back to back and offer my favourite part of the album (the opening two tracks a close second). The former sees the singer asking to ‘speak to the architect’ about the wonders of the world – an engaging song that could potentially have success as a single. The latter is the most soulful track on the album – Kacey questioning whether money can really buy happiness. This is essentially a love song, the Texan repeating ‘All I Want is You’, and that person being much more important than dollars in the bank. Heaven Is continues that theme, a simple acoustic ode to a lover, loving the way she feels when they call her name.

Anime Eyes is the biggest curveball on the album. It’s an adventure of a song with a kaleidoscopic bridge that simply explodes. This takes the album from a pastel green to a cornucopia of colours. Anime Eyes is the song on Deeper Well that High Horse was to Golden Hour – you’ll either love it or hate it!

It’s rare for the final track of an album to come in at two and a half minutes, but once again, there’s so much in this final song that it feels so much longer. The song talks about love which is Nothing to Be Scared Of and it’s almost as if Kacey is reassuring herself, ready to embrace the next adventure in her life. A positive way to end the album and a simply delightful song.

Overall, this is a very interesting release for Kacey Musgraves. It is more akin to Golden Hour than Star-Crossed, although you do feel that by listening to both previous albums you’ll more fully understand the overall message the singer is sending out. Not every country fan will get on board with this album, with critics potentially citing that it is generally one paced and has a too relaxed vibe. However, I would counter that by saying that Kacey has enough craft and guile in her music to make this an intoxicating listen from start to finish, and once you get it, this is an album that might rank very highly on any of your lists. Another tour-de-force for Kacey Musgraves.