Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves- The Album Country Music Haters All Need
An album review, done by an under qualified college student.
As someone who is very against country music, I was not looking forward to listening to this album. All of my friends told me that it was amazing and I needed to hear it, however, I thought I wouldn't be a fan.
Turns out, this is one of the best albums I've ever heard. I really dislike country music and with songs like "Space Cowboy" and "Velvet Elvis", it really turned me off. However, I recommend this album to every single person that has ever liked music. Yes, I mean that. This album is perfect for any time of day, any mood, and anything you could want to hear. I'm so glad to have been recommended this album and Kacey has a new fan in me.
Track 1: Slow Burn
Slow Burn is the leading track off of Kasey Musgrave's 4th studio album. The song talks about her escape from her small town and how the world is so big and she hasn't seen much of it. The song is a refreshing autobiographical hail to Musgraves who never loses herself, even after all the fame. Slow Burn is a perfect, yet unexpected, start to the album and it sets you up for the type of songs she will be singing. I really enjoy listening to this song, especially to start off my day. The reminders of the whole world are going through the same things I am is refreshing and helpful in my day-to-day.
Track 2: Lonely Weekend
The next song on the album is called Lonely Weekend. The song is set in a weekend where Musgraves has no one around and nothing to do, so she accepts the fact that it'll be a boring weekend by herself. She notes it isn't permanent and she has friends, but this weekend will be lonely. I really enjoy this song because it is such a simple concept that each of us goes through sometimes, but the song is still something you can vibe with. Everyone feels lonely at times, and this captures a moment in time where someone does feel lonely. I really like this song and the simplicity of it.
Track 3: Butterflies
The 3rd track on the album is called Butterflies. She talks about how her new found love gives her butterflies and how she had forgotten what love had felt like. It is an upbeat, happy love song that everyone who has ever been in love can relate to. The music video is also very appealing to the eye, as well. The song is a beautiful ode to her love and how he treats her well. Everyone who has ever been in love can relate to this song and it is a feel-good song that everyone will love.
Track 4: Oh, What A World
The fourth song on the album is called Oh, What A World. The song delves into the world we live in today and all of the beautiful things that we all get to experience in it. Whether it's in the ocean, "things that grow", or anything else Mother Nature has to offer, Musgraves points it out and makes it seem like the world we're in isn't so bad after all. The song reminds us all that there is beauty out there and we are so lucky to be experiencing it. While talking about all this, she ties it in with her love with the lyric "Oh, what a world/ And then there's you". She is grateful to be living out this experience with her special one, and it is a beautiful sentiment to not only the Earth but to her loved one.
Track 5: Mother
The fifth song on the Golden Hour album is called Mother. The song delves into Kacey feeling nostalgic and that everything has changed from where she was just a few years ago. She has said that while on an LSD trip, she got a text message from her mother and she felt not only nostalgic but sad that she and her mother were not together as they were when she was growing up. This song hits very close to me because I'm in college right now, and I think about how I miss being with not only my mother but my whole family every day. I really love this slow song because of how it makes me feel nostalgic, as well.
Track 6: Love Is A Wild Thing
The sixth track is called Love is a Wild Thing. The song talks about how love is everywhere you go, and how you can't hide it or make it go away once it is out there. This album really talks about love and how it is needed, especially in today's society. This track is a great addition to that message. Not only does it talk about how intricate loving someone can be, but it also talks about how perplex the concept of love is. You aren't able to choose who you love or what you love, but once you have that emotion, it is nearly impossible to entirely let go.
Track 7: Space Cowboy
Track 7 off of the album is called Space Cowboy. The song, from an outsider, would just seem like any old country song talking about a cowboy and how a girl got her heart broken by one. For non-country music listeners, this is a silly concept and is also overused. However, this song is really beautiful and while she does talk about the classic cowboy stereotypes that might make us laugh, she brings it home with a great sentiment to her old love and how she is finally letting him go. If I recommended non-country fans listen to one song, it would be this one to change your mind about country music.
Track 8: Happy and Sad
The eighth song off of the album is called Happy and Sad. This song dives into the feeling of being happy and sad at the same time. She describes the feeling of her being happy, but her also knowing in the back of her mind that bad days are coming for her. She doesn't know how to juggle being happy and knowing there's a storm coming her way. She knows that the highs come with the lows and that the lows are on their way for her. Every person can relate to this feeling she's going through. I know I have felt that once I am in a good spot in life and happy, it'll mean that soon something will happen that will make it the opposite. While still having an upbeat melody, Musgraves sings about an emotion we have all felt.
Track 9: Velvet Elvis
The ninth song off of the Golden Hour album is called Velvet Elvis. This is another song that from the outside can seem like another cliche country song. However, this is another one of Musgrave's upbeat songs that you can dance to. Like most other songs on her album, she is singing out her lover. However, in this one, she talks about how she sees him just like Elvis and how she wants to make him feel happy, which is just the way he makes her feel. She feels the love whenever she is with him, and she never wants that emotion to go away.
Track 10: Wonder Woman
The tenth song off of Golden Hour is called Wonder Woman. This song talks about her lover in the same way the whole album has: in an endearing way. However, she points out that she is not wonder woman and she will not always live up to the standard that he wants her to be. She also points out that while she isn't "Wonder Woman", she doesn't want him to be "Superman" anyways. She just wants these two people to be in love, but not necessarily idolizing each other. This is one of the more upbeat songs on the album and it is one that you can really jam to.
Track 11: High Horse
The eleventh track on the album is called High Horse. This sassy, upbeat song talks about the person everyone knows who "kills the buzz/ every time they open up their mouth". She calls this person in her life out, telling them to get off of their high horse. This person with a stubborn and uptight attitude is being told, with the same attitude, that they should relax and not be so arrogant. She said this song was a blast to make and she really enjoyed telling this person off.
Track 12: Golden Hour
The second to last song on Golden Hour is actually called Golden Hour. This song is based on the hour of the day where the sun is just about to set and it sets a golden glow on the Earth. She correlates this glow to her lover and how he makes her feel like that hour of the day does. The feeling you get when the sun is fading and the gold is setting on your skin is exactly the one she gets when she is with her lover. It is a beautiful sentiment to her lover, as well as a nod to Mother Nature, which is a commonly seen theme on this album.
Track 13: Rainbow
The finishing track of the album Golden Hour is called Rainbow. We've been through a whirlwind on this album: love, the earth, our emotions, our mother, and just about everything else. Now we need a good send off to the album. Well, Rainbow is just that: the final thought to this album. The song talks about how even though the person she's singing to is sad and struggling, there is beauty around them and everything that they're going through is temporary. Through the lyric "there's always been a rainbow/Hanging over your head", you can see the Musgraves is telling this person that they are so much more than what they're going through.
