Musgraves’ ‘golden hour’ fades to black after breakup
Kacey Musgraves breaks down the breakdown of her marriage on “starcrossed,” her follow-up to 2018’s Grammy-winning album of the year, “Golden Hour.”
Musgraves delivers the story in roughly three acts of tightly woven pop/ country songs: the optimism of falling in love, the sadness of drifting apart and everything that comes from the realization there is no going back.
You don’t have to have suffered through a divorce to connect with the feelings Musgraves expresses about seeking and holding onto love, loss, anger and hope for a better future. She credits a guided psychedelic trip with helping her organize and execute the record.
On “What Doesn’t Kill Me,” Musgraves gives a nod to the smash that immediately preceded this challenging, but accessible, record: “I’ve been to hell and back/ Golden hour faded black.”
On the standout track “Camera Roll,” Musgraves describes scrolling through old pictures on her phone and the memories they trigger.
“Chronological order and nothing but torture,” she sings. “Scroll too far back that’s what you get/ I don’t wanna see ’em but I can’t delete ’em/ It just doesn’t feel right yet.”
Who can’t identify with that?
“This hookup scene ain’t all that it’s made out to be,” she sings on another confessional, “Hookup Scene.”
“A pretty face might get you far/ But still it can’t replace the kind of real connection that I crave,” she sings. “The kind we don’t have anymore.”
“star-crossed” is a brave and brutally honest take on her marriage to singersongwriter Ruston Kelly that now joins the long list of records detailing breakups. It’s a story of courage and a stark contrast to the warm glow of “Golden Hour,” with Musgraves showing a vulnerability and willingness to grow artistically that is often in short supply among artists at her level of popularity. — Scott Bauer,
Associated Press
James McMurtry: In recent months, McMurtry testdrove some of this material during twice-a-week livestream performances from his home near Austin, Texas, occasionally interrupted by digital gremlins or a barking dog.
“The Horses and the Hounds” is McMurtry’s first album in six years, and the time taken to develop the new songs shows. These 10 tunes have been woodshedded until they sound both broken in and built to last, which makes it
‘The Horses and the Hounds’
James McMurtry (New West Records)
Kacey Musgraves delivers the story of her marriage breakdown in roughly three acts of tightly woven pop/country songs.
standard stuff from one of music’s best storytellers.
The set rocks, thanks partly to stellar electric guitar by David Grissom. He first worked with McMurtry more than 30 years ago, as did producer Ross Hogarth, who oversees handsome, varied arrangements that also feature cello, keyboards and accordion.
McMurtry assumes the voice of quirky characters who share wisdom won and explain their scars while contemplating annoyances great and small.
“Twitter’s on fire, my stocks all tanked, but what’s really getting to me is I keep losing my glasses,” McMurtry complains on “Ft. Walton Wake-Up Call,” an especially droll tune that could be mistaken for Florida Panhandle hip-hop.
Elsewhere, McMurtry’s quinquagenarian blues lament bad decisions, militarism, lives too short, road tolls and time the revelator. He bites off the words, even when he invites a smile.
“In a way-back corner of a crosstown bus, we were hiding out under my hat, cashing in on a 30-year crush,” he sings. “You can’t be young and do that.”
That’s a lyric built to last.