#85 – Golden Hour

Apple Music Rank: 85

Album: Golden Hour

Artist: Kacey Musgraves

Year: 2018

Genre: Country

Was I familiar with Kacey Musgraves?  Yes. She won a pile of Grammys a few years back so I knew of her. Never listened to her music.

Had I heard Golden Hour before?  Pretty sure I accidentally answered this above, but in case I wasn’t clear, no. I had not heard any of her music.

Thoughts on Golden Hour: Is this what country music sounds like? Is this what it’s supposed to sound like? I know no genre is “supposed” to sound like anything, but you know what I mean, right? I know dudes who hear Led Zeppelin and say, “That’s what rock and roll is supposed to sound like.” Do people say that about this Kacey Musgraves album? I have to admit, as a widely recognized country music hater I was ready to despise this album and rip the shit out of it and its placement on any top 100 list on this post. Then something wholly unexpected happened: I liked it. So I ask people who know more about music than I: Is this good country music? Or, is this the country music album that the cool kids who like to say, “I love all kinds of music,” point to when they want to prove that they have some knowledge of the genre? Was this album a crossover attempt to appeal to snobs like me who turn their nose up at country? On the flip side, are there hardcore country fans who hate Kacey Musgraves and call her a sellout? Is this what most country music sounds like and I’ve just spent my entire life ignoring it or is this something else? I have a feeling this is something else, since it’s on the Top 100 list and the rest are not.

Regardless, I knew I was wrong about this album the moment Kacey sang the first line of “Slow Burn“. If I can get specific about what I hate about country music it’s the twang and the sound of a slide guitar. You might like that and I get it. To each their own. That sound is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. In fact, I’d change the simile to “like a slide guitar” because I’d rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard. If I’m watching live music and they cut to someone sitting at that horizontal guitar neck with the metal cylinder on their finger (I’m sure there are technical names for these things but I’m not looking them up) I can’t change the channel fast enough. As for the twang, someone with a British accent can sing an entire album and you’d never know that they have an accent because you don’t hear it when they sing. Yet when I listen to country music I can hear the southern twang. They have to be doing that shit intentionally. I’m off on a tangent. I couldn’t say one nice thing about Kacey Musgraves without a paragraph destroying country music. Let me get back on track.

Kacey Musgraves’ voice is sweet and simple. I truly mean that as a compliment. She’s not blowing anyone away with power or doing anything overly complicated. It’s straightforward, flawless, and beautiful. She’s somehow perfectly toeing a line where I can tell she’s country, but she’s dialed the twang back about 90% so someone like me finds it enjoyable. This is more like a singer/songwriter album with a hint of country. This album is just lovely. I can’t think of another word for it. Like a ray of sunshine. I’d have to be the most cynical bastard in the world to say otherwise. It’s a pleasant listen and it puts a smile on my face. Shout out to the drummer, Ian Fitchuk, for giving the drums a sound and a groove that I wasn’t expecting on this album. Also, shout out to Google. When I typed in “Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour Drummer” to retrieve Ian’s name one of the first things on the list asked “Was Kacey Musgraves on acid when she wrote Golden Hour?” and I laughed out loud. This is the least acid-sounding album I’ve ever heard. Maybe I wasn’t listening closely enough. Maybe I don’t understand what acid is.

Favorite track: This may come as some surprise, but I love me some melancholy music. “Lonely Weekend” perfectly captures everything I enjoyed about this album. Nothing complicated. A nice groove, great vocals, and chill vibe.

Will I listen to Golden Hour again?  Probably. I can’t promise anything, but I really only had to listen to it once to fulfill my obligation for this post and I’ve listened to it three times now purely out of curiosity. Was that album as good as I thought it was? So far, the answer is yes.

Would I buy it on vinyl? I’m not against the idea. This seems like a record I’d buy and keep at the cottage. I can see playing this by the lake with a drink on a quiet summer Friday night.

To access more expert analysis of the Apple 100 Best Albums list click here.