Kacey Musgraves Releases New Songs – Details For New Album “Golden Hour”
The new Kacey Musgraves album Golden Hour will finally be arriving from Mercury Nashville on March 30th. This was officially revealed on Friday (2-23) after bits and pieces of info have been leaking out over the past few months, and the release was originally scheduled for “late winter.” Her 3rd official LP was produced by Ian Fitchuk, and Daniel Tashian (the Silver Seas), and is preceded by the release of two songs “Space Cowboy” and “Butterflies”—at least via streaming and download services.
“Butterflies” is said to be about Kacey meeting her husband and fellow performer Ruston Kelly, while “Space Cowboy” is said to be about a previous boyfriend who doesn’t want to be fenced in, and finds Kacey using a bit of the same word play that has been a part of many of her her previous songs. However neither song has been released as a single. In fact very similar to Mercury Nashville label mate Chris Stapleton, it’s questionable if there is any singles strategy for Kacey Musgraves and Golden Hour at all at the moment. Often major label albums are preceded by the release of a new single many months ahead of the album itself for promotional purposes.
The title of the new record was said to be inspired by the recent solar eclipse, but Kacey’s hometown in east Texas is also named “Golden.” Other songs from the record that fans have heard live aldready include “Wonder Woman” and “Velvet Elvis.” Though in previous interviews Musgraves has said for fans to expect a “trippy” sound from the new album, and artists such as Sade and The BeeGees have been cited as sonic influences, the first two songs sound like Musgraves for the most part, aside from the fact that so far there’s no evidence of the campy country lyricism of previous works.
As the winner of two CMA Awards, an ACM for Album of the Year, two Grammy Awards, and the beneficiary of a strong grassroots following and a favored status among more traditional and critically-minded country fans, Kacey Musgraves should be considered one of the premier performers in the mainstream. However Music Row continues to struggle to understand how to market her. Hopefully a strategy reveals itself for Golden Hour as the release nears.
Golden Hour is now available for pre-order.
Track List:
1. “Slow Burn”
2. “Lonely Weekend”
3. “Butterflies”
4. “Oh, What a World”
5. “Mother”
6. “Love Is a Wild Thing”
7. “Space Cowboy”
8. “Happy & Sad”
9. “Velvet Elvis”
10. “Wonder Woman”
11. “High Horse”
12. “Golden Hour”
13. “Rainbow”
If you do the Spotify thing, the new songs can be heard below.
February 23, 2018 @ 11:55 am
Dang it! I was hoping I’d never hear about her again.
February 23, 2018 @ 12:57 pm
Funny, a lot of folks feel the same about you.
February 23, 2018 @ 2:59 pm
You got me, man. I surrender.
February 23, 2018 @ 9:25 pm
I’ve never seen any other commenter get under your skin like this.
February 24, 2018 @ 7:37 am
RD,
I’m not trying to get under anybody’s skin. I’m just saying things that I believe are true, like everyone else on here.
February 25, 2018 @ 11:40 am
I, for one, happen to appreciate and value your opinions, Lord H. mostly because I agree with you almost every time.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:29 pm
I too, wish her career had ended with the last album. there’s so many more talented people. I’ve got Flamekeeper tickets for tonight, and I’m looking into getting BBS tickets for next month, and I’ve never understood why musgraves appeals to people.
For me it’s just a simple case of “I have albums by Lorrie Morgan, Jean Shepard and Rhonda Vincent, a few by Barbra Streisand and a lot by Dolly, Loretta, and Susan Raye, so I don’t need something like this.”
February 23, 2018 @ 2:00 pm
Sorry, but this opinion makes no sense to me. I’m no Kacey Musgraves fan, but why should her career end? At least she has generally recorded fairly “Country” sounding material, which is more than we can say for the likes of Morgan Wallen, FGL, or Sam Hunt.
I seriously doubt like Kacey Musgraves is preventing more people from checking out Flamekeeper or Blackberry Smoke. Kacey Musgraves is harmless in the grand scheme of things, even if her music has become increasingly boring and uninspired.
February 23, 2018 @ 2:51 pm
I mean she’s only Country if you wanna be very generous and let Reba and Shania be Country too.
her career end because her music is boring and silly and juvenile and her spot in Country Music should go to someone more talented and she needs to go back to singing karaoke.
February 24, 2018 @ 3:19 am
Reba’s not country? Get the hell outta here.
February 24, 2018 @ 7:39 am
Dave,
Reba sold out in the early 90’s. Catch up, buddy.
February 24, 2018 @ 9:49 am
You probably won’t find a bigger Reba detractor than me, but you know why that is?
Because the music she did in the ’80s was so damn good, specifically those first 4 albums from MCA. I remember hearing that stuff and thinking she was the female version of George Strait…but then I heard the albums that came after that and they got progressively less country, and it was such a disappointment.
February 23, 2018 @ 3:21 pm
One of the weird trends of the comments on this site is people who don’t like a given artist coming into an article and saying they’d much rather listen to [insert list of artists they think are cooler here].
February 25, 2018 @ 2:13 pm
That’s because a lot of people have nowhere else to go to keep track of good things in music. the industry has so totally effed us over and we have no place but SCM to get together. so we get very possessive of our last Country Music holdout.
We’re angry, we’re steamed up, riled up, ticked off, and we’re ready to argue to the death about music and we have nowhere else to go.
February 23, 2018 @ 5:47 pm
Yeah man, every aspect of her skill set is overrated.
And I couldn’t be sicker of the haughty, “I’m from a small-town, but I’m enlightened now, so I’m better than all those piece of sh!t hicks I grew up around” bullish!t.
February 23, 2018 @ 7:35 pm
“I’m from a small-town, but I’m enlightened now, so I’m better than all those piece of sh!t hicks I grew up around”
Isn’t that Patterson Hood’s entire product?
February 23, 2018 @ 8:57 pm
If you don’t think small towns/the midwest & south are claustrophobic for lots of folks, especially those that might be liberal, Gay, Transgender, etc. than you are kidding yourself.
Personally, I don’t mind the perspective Musgraves and Hood have provided about small town/rural America considering how many Country songs celebrate small-town America as some sort of borderline “holy” place where everything is peachy and great.
Not that large American cities don’t have their faults, I’m not interested in getting in a big town/small town debate, but the appeal of Musgraves viewpoint to me is that when her first song or two came out, they stood in stark contrast to the Luke Bryan’s of the world who celebrate small town America without shining a light on the many problems present within them (poverty, meth, racism, etc.). There is room for escapism in Music, but at one point it felt like every song on Country radio was a copy of Justin Moore’s “Small Town USA”. A song that is lazy and intellectually dishonest.
But at the end of the day, I’m no Kacey Musgraves fan and have probably wasted more typed words on her/her music than I intended to today haha.
February 23, 2018 @ 9:20 pm
“If you don’t think small towns/the midwest & south are claustrophobic for lots of folks, especially those that might be liberal, Gay, Transgender, etc. than you are kidding yourself.”
Maybe they are, but I think that is a good thing. Hopefully we can shame/ostracize/shun all that degeneracy out of them. Keep that trash away from my family.
February 24, 2018 @ 12:31 pm
I don’t know who that is. I keep asking you who it is, but for some reason Trigger won’t let it through.
February 24, 2018 @ 2:11 pm
Because it’s not relevant to the discussion, and once again you’ve devolved a comments section into politics and making it all about you.
It’s a name. Google it.
February 24, 2018 @ 5:09 pm
Brandi Clarke’s “Big Time in a Small Town” sums it up pretty well and in a positive light. I grew up in a west Chicago suburb, spent 26 years in north Georgia, and now reside in a small farming community in central Illinois. This is home. Everything you need, nothing you dont.
February 26, 2018 @ 8:12 am
Where’s home now, Aggc? Pekin for me.
February 25, 2018 @ 6:48 pm
As someone who isn’t conservative (liberals always assume its only conservatives who believe this stuff) I think who needs to be called out more are liberals. They can be so sexiest, racists and homophobic (well towards lesbians in my experience). No one ever calls them out on anything because they are always brainwashing people into believing they are “tolerant”. Kacey is very mainstream in her view in that regard. I wish she would call out all hypocrisy ect but she wont. She will stick to what’s the safest far as criticism goes.
February 23, 2018 @ 11:58 am
Can’t wait to hear it. She’s walks that line between pop and country better than anyone imho.
February 23, 2018 @ 12:02 pm
These two songs are wonderful, particularly the dreamy “Space Cowboy”. This is gonna be my country album of the year, at least.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:23 pm
I’m plus on the new songs. Why hasn’t Mercury Nashville released one as a single yet?
February 23, 2018 @ 2:16 pm
I assume Mercury is at this very minute forcing her to record something “hokey and aw shucks” a la biscuits. Wouldn’t want to actually give her a chance out there!
February 23, 2018 @ 11:43 pm
I wonder if the ‘females not getting airplay’ issue has labels re-thinking where to spend their promotional dollars and time with their female artists? Musgraves , for example , is probably doing as well or better than most of the trend-chasing label-molded females chasing mainstream attention AND she’s done it HER way .
February 24, 2018 @ 11:03 am
The production is absolutely gorgeous, too. A marked break from the same-iness of the sound on Pageant Material and STDP (and I love both albums!).
February 24, 2018 @ 5:35 am
Luke I would agree with you that this could be country album of the year for Kasey.
February 23, 2018 @ 12:10 pm
You didn’t mention she’s going on tour with Harry Styles?? 20 dates.
Ashely Monroe has also released a song from her forthcoming album. I’m trying to withhold any judgement on either project, but it seems these songbirds have flown the coop. But, I’ve been wrong before.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:26 pm
Didn’t mention she’s going on tour with Harry Styles because this is an article about her new album. If Harry Styles wants to help push a better artist than most of what you hear on country radio, then I’m not here to blame him for it, or Kacey for accepting.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:38 pm
You always post tour date info on album release articles!
February 23, 2018 @ 2:18 pm
Always? I would say occasionally, or rarely. Only when the dates are released in parallel with the album info. In this case the Harry Styles stuff was released a while ago.
February 23, 2018 @ 9:00 pm
If you haven’t listened to the Harry Styles album, it is well worth your time. I was surprised by how much I liked it.
February 24, 2018 @ 12:56 am
GET OUT!
February 24, 2018 @ 11:00 am
I second the Harry Styles recommendation. Well crafted pop and some interesting lyrics. And I’m the furthest thing from his target audience. Bought it after his SNL appearance.
As for Kasey, I got tired of the cutesy lyrics that seemed way too one note. I will give this one a listen, hoping for something I like.
February 24, 2018 @ 1:55 pm
YOU GET OUT TOO!
February 23, 2018 @ 12:14 pm
Butterflies sounds like a lot of Taylor Swift songs.
February 23, 2018 @ 12:27 pm
And I thought Golden Hour was going to be a satire song about Trump’s Russian Golden Shower. I honestly did.
February 23, 2018 @ 12:59 pm
Love her. Always happy when Kacey has new material out.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:12 pm
COle Swindells new song is suprisingly not bad
February 23, 2018 @ 1:31 pm
No. it’s bad. I don’t even have to hear it to know it’s bad.
February 23, 2018 @ 2:19 pm
Sounds like an objective take. 🙂
February 23, 2018 @ 2:52 pm
No. it’s called paying attention.
The song was recorded by Cole Swindle. There’s literally no way it can be “not bad.”
“not terrible,” maybe, “Not as bad as his other stuff” maybe.
but being “not bad” is an impossibility for someone like Cole Swindle. there’s only varying degrees of bad.
February 23, 2018 @ 4:19 pm
What if I said if had fiddle and steel as the main instruments?
February 25, 2018 @ 11:37 am
So does a lot of bad music
February 23, 2018 @ 1:55 pm
Agreed, actually – it is somewhat of a poor man’s “The Dance,” but for once he delivers fitting vocals, it isn’t completely bro, and the instruments are real.
February 24, 2018 @ 8:41 am
I think he finally realized that bro country would only get him so far.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:13 pm
man that Space Cowboy is a heart breaker, and clever word play. I like it.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:22 pm
Trig , I heard from a few different sources that Apple Music was growing at over double rate of Spotify in the US and are on pace to overtake Spotify for more overall listeners in America soon—I just thought that was something you’d like to know
February 23, 2018 @ 1:43 pm
Has anyone else heard the new Courtney Patton album? Now that’s some nice stuff! Everything you would expect and were hoping for.
February 23, 2018 @ 3:22 pm
Yes. Amazing that she also produced it. The writing and sound quality is top notch. Great sounding vinyl.
February 23, 2018 @ 1:57 pm
I have a random question for the community that doesn’t pertain to this. I was wondering if jon Wolfe was worth seeing in concert? I don’t care what you think of his music just tell me if he’s like George strait or like randy rogers. Like on a one to 5 scale. Thinking of seeing him tonight on vacation in Arizona wondering if it’s worth the time.
February 23, 2018 @ 3:30 pm
I’ve never seen him but I went to a king George concert last year and it was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen
February 23, 2018 @ 5:31 pm
He sounds good live, and very similar to how he sounds on his albums, so I would give it a 4 out of 5. If you go, enjoy the show!
February 23, 2018 @ 1:58 pm
These feel and sound more in sync with her first album. I thoroughly enjoyed both, but the first was way less campy and forced.
February 23, 2018 @ 2:14 pm
Loving the new song from Ashley Monroe! Can’t wait to hear what else she and Dave Cobb cooked up on Sparrow!
February 23, 2018 @ 2:28 pm
Track #1 “Slow Burn”. I prefer to hear T.G.Sheppard’s classic.
February 23, 2018 @ 2:41 pm
a) like the new Ashley Monroe song, but I really hope she doesn’t totally follow the East Nashville Cobb scene, with the horns and slight jazz feel, throughout the album
b) like the two new Kacey songs, especially Space Cowboy
c) Chris looks set to get his first #1 at radio. UMG has let Broken Halo ride, rather than rushing to get a single out from part 2. It currently has the top pop score on the national call-outs (for current songs).
February 24, 2018 @ 12:20 pm
It’s supposed to be throwback Countrypolitan (lots and lots of strings) – Glen Campbell, early Waylon, Tammy Wynette. However, that first track has a bit too much R&B. However, I think it will be a more noble project than Musgraves’ pop-infused country.
February 24, 2018 @ 4:27 pm
ashley monroe’s new dave cobb produced single is a bit of a a borefest for me and here’s why:
the music is Cobbish …( lacklustre ) and ashley can’t seem to inject any emotion into this pseudo- ‘soulful’ track . the whole thing has no dynamic …she is out of her depth vocally … , no ‘chills’ factor like a Lee Ann Womack would bring to this effort . the song is , in fact , too fast to be soulful in the sexy way it wants to be. the entire effort just lays there, in my opinion . this is not who she is . she’s a trad country singer -maybe..or.even a bluegrass singer . there is no soul , no power in her vocal abilities . she’s miscast in this setting . where’s bonnie raitt ? it takes a VOICE to sell something so lyrically benign .
February 25, 2018 @ 1:56 pm
Those are all great observations/comments. I’ve listened to the track probably a dozen times and still haven’t formulated an opinion.
February 23, 2018 @ 4:46 pm
I saw a video a couple days ago of her over reacting to something Ha!
I guess her pop star friends have rubbed off on her.
February 23, 2018 @ 10:15 pm
I like her but I do find it a little cloying with the word play sometimes. As a poet I’ve had my way around wordplay and once very so often is OK but it can be too much of a good thing. But frankly anybody putting out anything that isn’t Bebe Rexha (I wonder if Taylor is miffed about her record being broken by a non country lady) and FGL is fine by me.
February 23, 2018 @ 10:23 pm
Album cover looks like typical late 90’s cheese.
February 23, 2018 @ 11:32 pm
two things
1. 5 seconds into the track and you KNOW its Kacey Musgraves …..how rare is THAT in today’s ‘country’ landscape .
2.”Her 3rd official LP was produced by Ian Fitchuk, and Daniel Tashian (the Silver Seas).”
I was bracing for the name ” Cobb” …….phew…..
February 23, 2018 @ 11:57 pm
I like Space Cowboy more than I’d expect from Kacey at this point. Ashley is gonna have to be a grower. Loving Courtney Patton album so far. The new song I’m going nuts about today is The Los Bandeleros ‘Dancing With Irene’. Everlys meets Old 97’s and I am SO here for it
https://youtu.be/70vUnKIb96o
February 24, 2018 @ 12:58 am
I think Kasey’s new music is very good. Really like Space Cowboy. Very talented singer/songwriter and she’s beautiful too. Both songs sound country to me. Touring with Harry will increase her fanbase. Great opportunity for her.
February 24, 2018 @ 3:17 am
Jesus Christ, people. She’s one of the good ones. Save your hate for people who deserve it like Walker Hayes. Her previous albums are damn solid and a nice mix of traditional and contemporary sounds. A lot of her songs deal with similar themes but she does it well. It’d be nice for her to have even a minor radio hit off this album but I highly doubt that will happen. “Dime Store Cowgirl” and “Here for the Party” should’ve been big hits off Pageant Material.
February 24, 2018 @ 10:00 am
absolutely , dave . she would be HUGE in a genre that cared about themes ,originality , THE SONG and not the trends , … a genre that cared about ALL demographics , that cared about an artist who CAN write songs …not artists who THINK they can .
her songs don’t substitute hooks or groove by way of machines and fake handlaps for SUBSTANCE … her productions don’t chase radio flavours of the week . they are timeless , honest , simple with tight , uncluttered arrangements which , again , ALWAYS put the song and lyric first .
her previous two records are new on each listen the way great stuff should be , in my opinion . not forgettable , assembly line fluff serving the moment or the next car commercial .
this is the kind of artist that should be supported by a genre that was concerned with where labels and wannabes are trying to take it . which it certainly doens’t seem to be.
February 25, 2018 @ 11:38 am
Albert, I think you’re commenting on the wrong article. you just described Lorrie Morgan.
February 26, 2018 @ 12:10 am
ok then …..???
February 24, 2018 @ 3:25 pm
I really enjoyed her last two records and even these singles got me excited.. but the some of the other news songs (most of the record in fact) you can find in albeit poor audience recordings on youtube are pretty bad.. .lyric wise “Velvet Elvis”, Lonely Weekend are clunky. And the sound she is going for at least live so we’ll see what happened in the studio is very middle of the road and slight
February 24, 2018 @ 3:32 pm
anyone notice country is turning into badly done motown for white people? the new jason aldean, ashley monroe, etc new songs are sounding like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watchtime_continue=8&v=EqO1XOQ36hI not picking on jon langston but i noticed a trend
February 24, 2018 @ 4:02 pm
badly done motown
yup
February 24, 2018 @ 3:34 pm
50’s soul/motown trend https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=EqO1XOQ36hI
February 25, 2018 @ 7:21 am
From what I could hear of her on the 2 spotify plays, she sounds like a little girl.
February 25, 2018 @ 10:39 am
I’m thrilled that “Rainbow” is going to be on it. That’s my favourite song of hers and I was bummed when it didn’t make it onto Pageant Material.
February 25, 2018 @ 12:45 pm
The title track from this album sounds good live and has potential to be a hit for her if it becomes a single.
February 25, 2018 @ 1:02 pm
I named my daughter after Kacey Musgraves!
February 25, 2018 @ 3:43 pm
I named my son after a little guitar company out of Nazareth Pennsylvania
February 25, 2018 @ 4:07 pm
I think you owe her an apology
February 25, 2018 @ 5:50 pm
Christ, get a life Fuzzy
February 25, 2018 @ 7:27 pm
I have tried to like Kacey. I do love country so much. I’ll come and check out this site once in while. I have found so much music that I love here. Her lyrics can be so cliché while being too cutesy like biscuits for example. Her music is surface level while never digging too deep (This Town, Follow Your Arrow). Merry Go Round came close as any other song but for me its still very mainstream/cliché criticism. Her voice sounds like every other singer and is so boring.
February 26, 2018 @ 12:17 am
hear ya ,peanut….some understandable ‘concerns’ .
bottom line , for me , is that compared to the generic , assembly line , heartless and insincere trendy nursery rhymes contemporary country radio cranks at us , Kacey is Bob Dylan
February 26, 2018 @ 2:35 am
Yes she is a lot better than mainstream music on radio. I’ll never deny that fact.
February 26, 2018 @ 8:40 am
I enjoyed both songs, “Space Cowboy” being my favorite of the two. There is room for multiple points of view in music. I remember what it was like being a younger woman and chomping at the bit to get out of my hometown because I felt “different.” I think that Kacey serves that demographic well. I think she may show some maturity on this new album since she has had life changes. I am optimistic about this new album.
February 26, 2018 @ 3:12 pm
Looking forward to the album, although I have to admit that I find the acoustic version of “Butterflies” much better than the album version. The instruments really shine on that one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxZI4ded8Z4