Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

Part way into her sixth studio album, country crossover star Kacey Musgraves compares herself to a palm tree swaying in the wind. “I won’t break,” she croons, “I’ll just bend, and I’ll sway.” It’s a fitting analogy for ‘Deeper Well’; gentler and steadier than the tongue-in-cheek wordsmithing of mainstream breakthrough ‘Pageant Material’ or the pop sensibilities of the GRAMMY-winning ‘Golden Hour’ and its more subdued follow-up ‘star-crossed’. There’s an altogether calmer atmosphere on display here, that in its beauty forgoes some of the immediacy that characterised her earlier catalogue’s stand-out moments.

At its best, ‘Deeper Well’ toys with understated synths and strings, opener ‘Cardinal’ arguably placing the album’s highlight up front. ‘Anime Eyes’ – the most ‘pop’ track on the record – builds to dramatic spoken word in a rare step away from the stable pace. Yet for the most part, ‘Deeper Well’ exists in a state of content bliss, a reset of sorts for an artist whose quick quips and countless soft drug references have been all-but retired. Instead, Kacey opts for warm melodies and silky vocals to lead the charge, as beautiful, calm, and therapeutic as a palm tree swaying in the wind.