The Pop Corporation

In ‘Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy’, Kacey Musgraves sings “I bet most of these boots are probably never seeing any dirt and the ground ain’t any softer if you’re wearing a rhinestone shirt,” which is basically a call-to-arms against the disingenuous cod-cowboys that litter Country Music these days, and signal a return to her roots on ‘Middle Of Nowhere’.

See, Kacey rose to fame as a progressive and genuinely relatable New Wave Country singer, and then hit gold with the brilliant ‘Golden Hour’ – following that, there were mixed reviews of the pop-leaning ‘Star-Crossed’ (which was unfairly treated, honestly, as it still had loads of charm under the gloss) and ‘Deeper Well’ which was a rootsier affair, but still lumped in with ‘pop’ by people who perhaps hadn’t noticed that Kacey’s twang always had a homely pop edge.

Either way, there was a general feeling that some quarters wanted The Old Kacey back, and here, she’s given into it, reminding us of the woman who gave us ‘Pageant Material’ and ‘Same Trailer, Different Park’ all those years ago.

There’s a feeling amongst some circles that the Big Record Label Years saw Kacey a little lost in showbiz, and maybe, if she took herself home, we’d find a more content woman – however, Kacey always had a sharp finger when poking fun at the place she calls home, so this time around, she’s back in Texas, with a wry eye for familiar surroundings and some weariness for the celebrity life.

Let’s not forget, Kacey made her name with songs like ‘Good Ol’ Boys Club’ and ‘Follow Your Arrow’ – Musgraves going ‘home’ doesn’t mean a spiritual reset or room to breathe – Kacey’s usually at her best when she’s got some scores to settle, even if she delivers them in an easy way.

And so, ‘Dry Spell’ kicked this album cycle off with a fun little song about not getting any, and more puns than you can shake a Hitachi wand at, and the title track which was a more plaintive affair – but there’s some things to put to bed, too.

One such thing is the feud with Miranda Lambert, who appears on ‘Horses and Divorces’, and is set to become one of Kacey’s signature songs no doubt. If the the last two albums were two types of picking up the pieces, here, it at least feels like Musgraves has started putting things back together.

Still prodding and poking at the kind of Fox News tropes that hacky Country musicians too readily fall into, Kacey has said in a recent interview that she doesn’t want to be a “bumper sticker songwriter”, so through the pedal steel guitars, Kacey brings forth some lessons on isolation, in-betweenness, blow hards and the quietness of America’s liminal spaces. Of course, Kacey can’t resist the occasional zinger and some crunchy, crystal mom dippiness, but that’s why we like her. We know what we signed up for, even if there’s occasional eye-rolls.

The fact is, the one thing that has always been so pleasing about Kacey is that there’s no-one quite like her, and on this album, she really feels like she’s being herself the most since ‘Golden Hour’, which is very pleasing.

The fact that Willie Nelson appears on the album, like some old smoking buddy, is satisfying. So too are the Mexican flourishes, giving a lovely border town vibe to proceedings, recognising that America owes more to their Latin cousins than the trucker cap MAGA courting dick heads of Nashville will have you believe.

There’s still a strong drive time element to the album of course – ‘I Believe In Ghosts’, ‘Loneliest Girl’ and ‘Rhinestoned’ are built for road trips real or imagined, and basically, combine the AM Radio stuff, with the mariarchi ornamentations, Kacey’s wry eye, the pedal steel and wistful dreaminess, and you’ve got an album that marries Musgrave’s entire career to date in one package.

It’s eminently listenable as you’d imagine, and sure, it won’t change the course of music, but honestly, this is as good an album Kacey Musgraves has made in a good few years. If you’re rooting for her, this is a welcome return, not that she ever really strayed too far from what made her great, despite the calls that this is a comeback – Kacey was always there and never went away.

Just as you feel the Country movement is starting to fade away, Kacey is showing everyone that it wasn’t a phase for her in the first place.

An enjoyable album that existing fans will enjoy, and well worth a listen for everyone else. She’s good people – Kacey Musgraves is always worth your time.