The first few lines of Kacey Musgraves new album clue you in on the tone of the whole album. Musgraves is simply going to tell you how it is. The line âTexas is hot / I can be cold / Grandma cried when I pierced my noseâ hooks listeners in, the declaration of these facts set to melody making for an intriguing opening. âSlow Burnâ is an instant classic, and also represents Musgravesâ career in a way.
 âGolden Hourâ is Musgravesâ third studio album, and the country songstress has faced hesitance to be accepted by the country music world in the past. Musgravesâ first single, âFollow Your Arrowâ, was shut out by most country radio stationsâprobably because the song is pro-gay (âKiss lots of boys / Or kiss lots of girls if thatâs what youâre intoâ), and country radio was then (and still) dominated by men singing rock-inspired songs. She was famously censored during a performance of âFollow Your Arrowâ at the 2013 Country Music Awards. However, Musgravesâ is not a stranger to awards, with multiple Grammys and CMAs to her name, and certainly more to come for this record.âGolden Hourâ was inspired by the 2017 eclipse. âThere we were in the middle of making this record and a total solar eclipse darkened Nashville on my birthday. My 29th year. A golden hour in my young-adult life,â said Musgraves.Â
Her third album is a softer pop, reflecting on the world around her with pretty, light songs like âOh, What a World,â âGolden Hour,â and âSpace Cowboyâ. The latterâs lines like âsunsets fade and love does, tooâ makes for an emotional ballad with a clever title (“You can have your space / Cowboy”) that could easily get stuck in your head. Musgraves also married fellow musician Ruston Kelley in 2017, and songs like âVelvet Elvis,â âButterflies,â and âLove is a Wild Thingâ celebrate that relationship and her love for him.Â
But love isnât the only topic covered on âGolden Hour.â On songs like âMotherâ and âLonely Weekendâ, she laments the distance between her and her family. The albumâs most rebellious (in Musgravesâ typical fashion, check out “Biscuits” for another good one) song âHigh Horseâ can easily become an anti-hate anthem. âWonder Womanâ uses inspiration from the movieâs heroine, but Musgravesâ insists that sheâs not Wonder Woman (“There’s a reason why you only see it in the movies”). Her song-writing skills and talent make us beg to differ, but weâll let her have this thoughtful yet fun song.
A stand-out favorite is âHappy & Sadâ, where Musgraves reveals sheâs so entirely happy that sheâs scared of the inevitable fall-outââIâm the kind of person who starts getting kind of nervous / When Iâm having the time of my life.â Sheâs both happy and sad, because âThey say everything that goes up / Must come down / But I donât want to come down.â This feeling is entirely relatable to listeners, when happiness is an emotion that seems fleeting and we can be so nervous about the downswing that we miss the good in our lives.
The albumâs closer, âRainbowâ, is breathtaking. âLet go of your umbrella / âCause darling Iâm just trying to tell ya / That thereâs always been a rainbow hanging over your head,â Musgraves promises, a signal to the end of bad times and a future that includes the good fortune thatâs found under the rainbow. Overall, “Golden Hour” shines through and through.