It’s a lucky New Music Friday. The biggest new release comes from Kacey Musgraves. It’s also a big week for electronic fans. Read on to see what fresh albums and singles arrived this week. First, here’s a deep dive into Spacey Kacey’s latest country venture.
The Best of New Music Friday:
Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
It’s been 11 years since Kacey Musgraves revealed herself to be a relatable lyricist, even to those who have never set foot in a trailer park. A decade and six studio albums later, Musgraves continues combining wit with layered instrumentations. Musgraves’ songs are digestible. They aren’t complicated on the ear. But her finger-picking acoustics and the added orchestral strings are anything but extra easy to play. Musgraves walks a fine line between simple sound and robust mechanics.
Musgraves is a country artist yet her music is accessible to everyone. She’s a pioneer. On the opening song of her new record Deeper Well, “Cardinal,” Musgraves sounds like several new contemporary pop singers. Her vocal pitch and cadence are strikingly similar to Clairo. The effects that make her voice echo off into synths are akin to Samia. Everyone should remember that Musgraves has been using these components for so long now that she might as well have a trademark on them.
Deeper Well’s title track displays how relatable Musgraves gets on this LP. “When I turned 27, everything started to change,” she sings, helping everyone who is part of the club grasp that life is different now, allowing everyone older to nod and say “Yep” and leaving younger people to be either naive and defiant or accept that things will not be as dreamy as their lives have been. Musgraves also reflects on how easy it was to rip homemade gravity bongs early in the morning and how now the thought of marijuana gives her panic attacks. She’s sending both a warning and promise: Not everything is better when you’re high, and even the biggest stoners are destined to slow their roll someday.
Musgraves leaves room for other sounds too. The stretching of echoey guitars at the end of “Moving Out” puts a real emphasis on getting lost in a personal transition. “Autumn’s coming in // And we’re moving out,” Musgraves sings. This song showcases the feeling that sets in while moving across town. It’s a transition period. When riding back to the old place that’s being moved out of to pick up those final items, there are always a few wide-open thoughts about the past. Now the future is here and it’ll be different. A certain era is gone, a new one is here. And it’s all because there’s a discomfort in adapting to a new home. Musgraves embodies that feeling in her lyrics and her chords.
Deeper Well is akin to moving homes. Musgraves has adapted a bit, but besides new surroundings, things are mostly the same, and she’s still the same Spacey Kacey that millions adore.
New Music Friday Top Picks:
The Dandy Warhols – ROCKMAKER
Four Tet – Three
Gustaf – “Close”
Ximenta Soto – “Una Y Otra Vez”
Zhu – Grace
Zolita – “All Girls Go to Heaven”
Which of these tracks from New Music Friday will you be adding to your favorite playlists today? Any we missed? Let us know in the comments or on Instagram!
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