Kacey Musgraves enjoyed a busy 2017, complete with Grammy nominations, shows around the globe and a special October wedding to her now husband Ruston Kelly. But Musgraves fans have plenty to look forward to in 2018 when her new album hits the shelves. Here's everything we know about Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour.
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The Number
Golden Hour is Musgraves' fourth full record, if you include her 2016 album A Very Kacey Christmas. Her breakthrough Nashville debut Same Trailer, Different Park came in 2013. She then followed it up with 2015's Pageant Material. Both records earned her critical acclaim, so don't expect anything different from her fourth album.
The Sound
So far, Musgraves has stuck to her award-winning combination of neo-traditional country with smooth pop melodies, clever wordplay and just a hint of irreverence. Still, she hinted at maybe making a reggae or surf rock concept album for her next original record back in 2015.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, however, Musgraves says she came out with more of a "trippy" album. Influences for the work range from Neil Young to the Bee Gees to Sade. She says there's also a live-at-the-piano version of a fan favorite song she's been playing on the road.
Musgraves also recorded the project at Sheryl Crow's studio above her horse stable. She says Crow would pop in for a visit every now and then, or even get existential over a glass of wine. The environment clearly influenced the record.
The Songs
We don't know how many songs are on the album (or the name of the songs), but we know Musgraves wrote a lot of them with some familiar faces. Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby and Luke Laird all wrote on the record. But Musgraves sought out friends Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian to co-write most of the record as well as co-produce.
Not surprisingly, Musgraves' relationship with now-husband Ruston Kelly takes center stage on a lot of the songs. "I have a lot more love songs this time around, and I've never been one to write a love song and really feel it," Musgraves told EW. "That probably sounds like the most depressing thing ever. [But] I'm coming off getting married and being in this golden hour of my personal life, where all these things are finally coming to fruition. I found myself inspired to write about this person and all these things he brought out in me that weren't there before."
Musgraves says the record is also inspired by different "masks" we wear.
"I was thinking about how there are different masks that we wear that represent different sides of us," she says of the album's central theme. "None of the masks are solely us, but they're all us. On this record, there's the lonely girl, the blissful girl, the new wife, the girl that's missing her mom, the angry girl, the sarcastic girl, the '60s-sequined Cruella de Vil with the beehive, the shy girl, the life of the party, the winner, the loser — they're all characters on this record. None of them alone are me, but the golden hour is when they all come together and you see me as a whole."
The Release Date
As with the songs, Musgraves is being mum on the release date. All we know is that it's expected early 2018. Which means we should expect a new single any day now!
We'll keep you informed of any new developments with Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour.
