Review
Kacey Musgraves has come to burst your bubble — and that’s okay. The six-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter picks up right where she left off in her previous album, Golden Hour, and writes the antithesis of her glowing love story: her divorce. Appropriately titled, Star-crossed goes through the wavy motions of grieving heartbreak: denial, anger, sadness, bargaining, guilt and acceptance. Musgraves’ fifth studio album, born from a guided psychedelic mushroom trip, holds the hands of listeners through her tragic Shakespearean love story she alludes was doomed from the very start.
Unlike other country albums where heartbreakers are the bane of one’s existence, the 15-track record is not one to point fingers. Instead, Star-crossed takes an introspective approach where the writing feels both personal and impartial in who’s to blame for the way things worked out. Musgraves draws inspiration from her divorce to country musician Ruston Kelly — the same relationship she looked at through rose-colored glasses in Golden Hour, 2018’s acclaimed Grammy Album of the Year — but this time around, she tells the story in three acts: What it looks like before, during and after the flame of a three-year marriage burns out.
Musgraves opens up the album near the demise of her love story with “Good Wife,” a pre-breakup denial song. The melody’s psychedelic, groovy synths and rhythmic funk carry her stream of thoughts — the chorus revealing a somewhat prayer she recites to herself to stay strong within her marriage. “God, help me be a good wife/ ’Cause he needs me/ Even when he’s not right/ He still needs me,” she sings powerfully and desperately trying to convince herself. Her
illusions come alive in the spacey track “If This Was A Movie.” Her dreamy melody creates an idealistic scenario where, “You’d run up the stairs/ You’d hold my face/ Say we’re being stupid/ And fall back into place.” But she knows the relationship’s ultimate collapse can’t be stopped — “But it’s not a movie.” It goes in tune with the rest of the first cinematic act of the album, all songs before “Justified,” where Musgraves strings along a theme of hope, or more so, a hopeful romantic on the brink of hopelessness.
The second act delivers a more balanced and assorted approach to her country roots. The gloomy guitar track “Angel,” where a thunderous rainstorm makes its way midway through the song, resonates with listeners’ ears because Musgraves lets production gestures speak for themselves. But the artist, who is known to experiment with her folk influence and who often pokes at orthodoxy, takes charge with stripped-down acoustics in “Hookup Scene.” The bluesy ballad reveals the messiness of rushing into a dynamic dating life right after a heart-wrenching split — the empty feelings that come from wispy relationships have her second-guessing if there was anything more she could’ve done. She offers advice in a melancholy tone, “Hold on tight despite the way they make you sad/ Cause I wish I would have known we didn’t have it so bad.” Although Musgraves sings to a different tune by the end of the album — an uplifting note — her intentional ability to let the audience know she’s endured the woes of self-doubt signifies Star-crossed as mature work.
But if you want the less conflicting complement to “Hookup Scene,” then look no further than “Justified.” The head-bopping title validates getting back out into the singles world but reminds listeners that “Healing doesn’t happen in a straight line.” Another notable mention in the same realm of pop goes to “Breadwinner,” the grey-skyed version of Golden Hour’s disco-kissed song “High Horse.” The fizzy soft-groove track is the sassiest Musgraves gets, singing in the
chorus “He wants a breadwinner/ He wants your dinner/ Until he ain’t hungry anymore.” The girl-boss anthem tells the story of a male partner intimidated by a woman’s success, yet sticks to her like glue — the plucky electronic track is bound to be the most bumped by speakers.
While some fans might have expected more of an outraged “you go, girl” attitude, Musgraves’ mixed-bag of feelings offers the authenticity of a personal heartbreak — and doesn’t let listeners down. She ends the final act with a settled spirit, the penultimate standout track “There Is A Light” plays on jazzy flutes. It draws on similarities to Ariana Grande’s “The Light Is Coming,” where the power of light overcomes the darkness of a situation. Musgraves also takes a deep dive within herself to find the hope she needs to keep moving forward. Her words of affirmation, “There is a light inside of me, ah-ha,” bring about a feeling of spiritual awakening.
Although Star-crossed may never live up to Musgraves’ Golden Hour, it sure puts the starry-eyed girl to bed — and she’s not sorry about it. It’s clear that she writes for herself and no one else; she simply can’t help having her heart on her sleeve. But Star-crossed marks another milestone of an album in her journey of growing up, and she keeps listeners interested by telling them exactly what they don’t want to hear: “Golden hour faded black.” But yet, she continues to hold her listeners’ hands and reassures them “it will all be alright.”