Kacey Musgraves’ golden hour has faded to black, taking with it her rose-colored view of love. Following four Grammy wins in 2019 and a divorce in 2020, Musgraves returns with her fourth studio album, “Star-Crossed.” No longer the love-struck country singer of “Golden Hour,” Musgraves is ready to offer her most honest and experimental project yet.
“Star-crossed” is not the typical breakup album. Filled with deeply personal accounts of the end of her marriage, Musgraves explores the concept of grief and the internal conflict that comes with it. She berates herself in track two, “Good Wife,” and later offers herself grace in track six, “Justified,” intentionally lingering in the grey area of blame that heartbreak entails.
The album opens with the title track, “Star-Crossed.” Replete with cinematic sounds of harps and dramatic guitar riffs, the track introduces the story of Musgraves’ divorce and offers a preview of her experimentation in production. Though different sonically as compared to her early albums that were heavy with slide guitar and harmonica riffs, “Star-Crossed” blends sounds of psychedelic synth pop and traditional country crooning seamlessly.
Musgraves’ southern twang is still present throughout the entire album, displaying her continued devotion to her roots in small town Texas. Her vocals, however, are not the only aspect of the project that strongly maintains her ties to country music.
Musgraves, though far from her days of singing about trailer parks and beauty pageants, remained loyal to her tactics of storytelling. She solidified her place in country music early on by articulating the simple parts of life in her songs. While divorce is by no means simple, Musgraves explores the minute, seemingly unimportant details of heartbreak that are starkly relatable in songs like “Camera Roll,”a hauntingly melancholy track about deleting photos from a past relationship.
Tracks like “Cherry Blossom” and “There is a Light” complete with segments of flute and auto-tuned vocals, can be a shocking contrast to the rest of her catalogue. Musgraves manages, however, to make it work by also including genre-ambiguous songs such as “Easier Said,” which offers a blend of pop sounds and banjos. Musgraves also pays homage to her origins in “Hookup Scene” and “Keep Lookin’ Up, both purely traditional and well-written country songs.
Musgraves continues her tradition of offering societal commentary which is exemplified in the song “Breadwinner.” Though similar to the cheekiness of her previous work, the song is more than a catchy feminist anthem. Strip back the peppy production and there is a profoundly personal tale of an unsupportive husband threatened by his wife’s success which adds another layer to an already disheartening story of failed marriage.
“Star-Crossed” stands out amongst Musgraves’ discography for its self-reflective nature. The most deeply heartbreaking tracks of the album are the most wistful, reflecting on what could have been if not for the deep incompatibility within her marriage. “Angel,” one of the shortest tracks on the album, is also one of the most standout, perfectly encapsulating the “what-if’s” that come with grief. “Everything would be better, I’d never have to change,” Musgraves sings.
Musgrave’s blending of fresh sounds with traditional country music refreshes and preserves a genre all at once, making it palpable to a broader audience. Not to mention that Musgraves’ personal life went through an unfathomable shift; it only makes sense that her music would follow suit.
