Encouraged by Shelley during a family road trip to California, The D Man listened to the Nashville outsider's exquisite third album. The payoff was immediate. Not that there was anything to unearth--the record's radiance was brilliant enough for even the vapid Grammys to give it a nomination for Best Album of the Year.
Vivid and focused, Musgrave's songwriting is delightfully straightforward. On "Slow Burn," the record's opening mantra, Musgraves is just fine letting the world turn slow, crackling, and hot.
'Cause I'm alright with a slow burn
Taking my time, let the world turn
I'm gonna do it my way, it'll be alright
If we burn it down and it takes all night
It's a slow burn.
On "Love is a Wild Thing," Musgraves is incapable of seeing anything but life's glorious mystery and love's peculiar magic.
Running like a river trying to find the ocean
Flowers in the concrete
Climbing over fences, blooming in the shadows
Places that you can't see
Coming through the melody when the night bird sings
Love is a wild thing
On "Oh, What a World," Musgraves continues to marvel at the glory of it all.
Northern lights in our skies
Plants that grow and open your mind
Things that swim with a neon glow
How we all got here, nobody knows
These are real things
Oh, what a world, don't wanna leave
All kinds of magic all around us, it's hard to believe
Thank God it's not too good to be true,
Oh, what a world, and then there is you.
And then there is you. Musgraves, married last year, turns her enraptured attention to the lover by her side on "Butterflies."
Now you're lifting me up, instead of holding me down
Stealing my heart instead of stealing my crown
Untangled all the strings round my wings that were tied
I didn't know him and I didn't know me
Cloud nine was always out of reach
Now I remember what it feels like to fly
You give me butterflies
There are so many other vivid gems: "Lonely Weekend" is grand Rumours-worthy pop that embraces the bittersweet in solitude; "Space Cowboy" winks with the title pun but turns poignant and lovely; and "Happy and Sad" is up-and-down, effervescent emotion.
There is plenty of cheeky fun too: "Velvet Elvis" sings the praises of her stylish man; "Wonder Woman" empowers vulnerability in love; and "High Horse" is a country-disco kiss-off to that dude who kills the buzz every time he opens his mouth.
Musgraves' melodies are buoyant and memorable, displaying a grand sense of optimism. Where she previously emphasized her edgy bona fides as a way of contrasting her status on the outside of Nashville's mainstream, her only aim here is to write and sing sparkling country-pop songs, which she accomplishes at every turn. She is supported by the record's vibrant 4K production, which is spacious and delicate, as steel guitars, banjos, and acoustic guitars allow her voice to swoop and soar, unimpeded.
On the title track, Musgraves' sings "you make the world look beautiful / thought I'd seen it all before." It perfectly sums up the dazzling way Golden Hour lights up listening by virtue of her incandescent songwriting.
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