Around the time of 2015’s Pageant Material, Texan Kacey Musgraves started to appear in places such as Pitchfork.com and Uncut magazine along with other newer country stars Margo Price and Sturgill Simpson. Musgraves followed that album up with a very well received Christmas album in 2016 before starting work on Golden Hour in 2017. Many songs from Golden Hour are sparked by new found love when she started dating then married Ruston Kelly, specifically first single “Butterflies”.
This is a slick sounding album ready made for radio and online playlists. “Slow Burn” shows off Musgraves pleasing vocals while she sings of trying to find her place in the world – “I know a few things but still got a lot to learn”. The catchy “Lonely Weekend” could soundtrack virtually any number of TV commercials whereas the spare “Mother” barely lasts a minute. Touches of Daft Punk style electronica appear in “Oh What A World” and “Love Is A Wild Thing” features celestial sounds towards the end.
Reserving some of the best tracks for the second half – single “Space Cowboy” appears before the pop of “Velvet Elvis”, the catchy “Wonder Woman” and disco lite “High Horse”. Touching on many different styles, most tracks are still rooted in country pop. Musgraves’ vocals will not blow you over but her experimentations, both musically and with LSD, make for a varied and memorable 45 minutes.
8.5/10
The Light Appears 