Kacey Musgraves 'Deeper Well' album review: The singer mines the depths

The record is one of her more consistent efforts

Jason Kempin/GettyImages
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Kacey Musgraves started back early in this century with some independent releases, but really hit it big back in 2013 with her major label debut Same Trailer Different Park. It was all the way to the top, hitting full stride with Golden Hour in 2018. The album also signaled quite a shift both in her musical and lyrical approach, going swiftly into what some have seen as moving into Taylor Swift's sophisticated pop territory.

At the same time, it seems she has encountered some opposition in the traditional country music circles, both for the musical and lyrical shifts. The 2021 album Star Crossed began getting mixed reviews for whatever reason, part of the criticism being that the album was somewhat overproduced.

So three years on, Musgraves came up with a new offering titled Deeper Well. Again, the early reviews are mixed, but it seems that the negative ones are knee-jerk reactions, as a cumulation of the criticisms she has received in the meantime.

Kacey Mugraves delivers another winner with Deeper Well

Simply put, this time around, Musgraves has stuck to her musical shift into the more pop territory with some truly sophisticated songwriting Not a single track falters. At the same time she has also kept her direct, personal introspective stance, another thing she shares with Swift, it seems.

Also, she has definitely toned down the production and arrangement elements, shedding off any possible excesses that have been lurking on the previous album. And as is always the case with her albums, there are songwriting gems do admire - the title track, “Too Good To Be True,” harmonious “Sway,” or the inevitable hit of “The Architect.”

It could be said that this time around Kacey Musgraves is going deeper into her songwriting and singing capabilities with Deeper Well.

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