STAR-CROSSED

With "Golden Hour", Kacey Musgraves pushed the idea of what a country music album could sound like, with psychedelic-pop, alt-rock and disco unexpectedly and delicately sprinkled throughout. This 2018 collection brought the Texas native new-found fame and critical acclaim, leading Musgraves to win four Grammy Awards including the prestigious Album of the Year. After all this great success, life should have been wonderful for the singer. But her almost four year marriage to fellow musician, Ruston Kelly came to an end last year. Musgraves carried on and tried to keep busy despite the forced isolation of the pandemic.

This has lead Musgraves to deliver her fifth studio album, "Star-Crossed" which she co-wrote and produced with Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian who both worked on "Golden Hour". She calls this record a "modern tragedy", shaping it like a three-act play with many of the songs unavoidably touching on themes of heartbreak and healing. And while "Star-Crossed" is not exactly country (citing Bill Withers, Daft Punk and Weezer as musical influences), it's not a complete abandonment like Taylor Swift's first foray in to pure pop with "1989".

The title track opener, driven by a sad guitar, touches directly on the end of her relationship, listing the process and ultimate acceptance. The rest of the album boldly experiments with a variety of sounds and beats while Musgraves even-handily discusses her experiences with love, disappointment and offers some hard-earned advice. "Star-Crossed" surprisingly closes with a cover of a Spanish-language ballad, "Gracias a la vida (Thanks to life)" written by the late, Chilean musician, Violeta Parra that begins like a grainy, vinyl record before further distorting the sound throughout the rest of the song.

"Star-Crossed" is an adventurous record that doesn't fit comfortably in to any specific genre by design. This will surely make some listeners very uncomfortable, particularly country music purists. But I think that's also what makes Musgraves' new collection one of the most exciting albums released so far this year. And there is a fifty-minute, mini-movie for the album, directed by Bardia Zeinali with camerawork by Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, that can be seen now exclusively on Paramount+.