Singer Kacey Musgraves joined the country scene during the 2010s and has secured her spot in the industry since. She glamorously crosses the line between country and pop, as so many women have done in the music industry before. She’s also known for being unapologetically outspoken about certain issues that have previously been barred from country music, such as drug usage and LGBTQ+ rights. Her latest album, Deeper Well, continues these trends in her music but also expands into a story about growth and healing.
Growing up in a small sawmill town in Texas, Musgraves traveled around the state singing on the weekends. It was through these performances that she developed her songwriting skills with the help of a local artist, which led to her moving to Nashville and securing a songwriting contract. She wrote for other artists for years and considered it weird to see other people singing her lyrics.
Eventually, Musgraves got in the studio herself and began to sing her lyrics rather than give them away. In 2013, she released her first studio album, Same Trailer Different Park, with the song “Follow Your Arrow.” Enough success followed to secure Musgraves a Willie Nelson collab on her following album, Pageant Material. This album was when I first heard of Musgraves, as its song “Biscuits” gained popularity for its clever and catchy line, “Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy.”
It was with her Grammy-winning album Golden Hour that Musgraves began making changes to her songwriting. She told The Guardian, “Instead of focusing on turning a phrase, or trying to out-clever myself, this album was more about feeling my way through than thinking my way through.” This prioritization of emotions over wit was very present in the music, alongside the change to start leaning more into the pop genre.
Golden Hour brought Musgraves to the attention of people other than country music fans and, in my opinion, solidified her stardom. She began to combine country and pop through beautiful slow ballads alongside dance hits like “High Horse.” Although she turned more toward her emotions, she still had her signature fun and clever lines throughout the album.
Deeper Well continues Musgraves’ trend of songwriting more with her heart than with her head. The album has a much softer sound, leaning away from pop and dance and toward more of a cross between country and folk sounds. This is a common moment I’ve seen shared by country artists at some point in their careers.
The title track of the album, “Deeper Well,” was the first single released. It’s about letting go of bad habits that don’t serve you and finding a “deeper well” instead. This song is a perfect introduction to the rest of the album, which continues the story of recognizing and releasing aspects of your life that aren’t making you happy and turning your attention to what does.
The song “Dinner with Friends” reminds me of a modern and more grown-up version of Julie Andrews’ “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. Musgraves lists all kinds of different things that she would “miss from the other side.” This song can be heard as someone reminding themselves of their favorite things to help themselves during a dark time, or a gleeful expression of everything they want to soak up before it’s too late.
“Sway” is another song focused on growth and healing, as it’s about learning to “sway” with all of the challenges life throws instead of letting them break you.
Musgraves seems to touch most heavily on religion in “The Architect,” in my opinion, where she wants to talk to the world’s creator about the beauty she recognizes in the world and the things she wants to change.
Musgraves continues these themes throughout the rest of Deeper Well while introducing a new side of her sound. This is my favorite album she has released so far. It feels like it’ll be one that’ll continue to speak to me through all kinds of different phases in my life. I’ve heard others describe the album as a “nostalgic warm hug” and I’d consider that to be a very accurate description. The album displays Musgraves’ growth not only as an artist but also as a person.
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