Kacey Musgraves found her Deeper Well.
The Texas native released her fifth studio album today (sixth including her 2016 Christmas album), which is all firmly planted in the fact that she knows who she is and the life she’s lived thus far at 35 years old. There’s a certain maturity, and as a result, curiosity, in every song for how the universe works and why it all is the way it is.
There’s also a lot of acceptance, which is why it’s easy to feel the growth of her personal and musical journey over the yers, and in an interview for The Cut, she says that theme is a direct result of where she is personally and professionally:
“I definitely feel way more grounded now than in the past.
I feel like my feet are firmly planted on the ground, and no matter what comes my way and tries to rock me, I feel more planted, if that makes sense.”
The recording process for Deeper Well took place at Electric Lady studio in New York City, and was produced by Kacey alongside Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk, who also produced her Grammy-winning 2019 Golden Hour album, as well as her 2022 Star-Crossed project.
For hardcore fans (me) of her first two projects Same Trailer Different Park and Pageant Material, there are some great songs on this tracklist that are reminiscent of that pure magic, and for those who fell in love with Kacey when she put out Golden Hour, like my best friend, I think you’ll be obsessed with this record from the first listen.
I’d be lying if I said I loved every single song, because with Tashian and Fitchuk at the helm it’s naturally going to have a decent amount of pop influence. That’s not always a bad thing, and I don’t necessarily expect Kacey to recreate her early material over and over (though admittedly, I’d love it), but it’s just not always for me.
This album is currently sitting at #1 on the iTunes country albums chart, and Kacey is also sending “Cardinal” to US Triple A radio (an alternative chart), so there’s certainly quite a bit of crossover on Deeper Well and she’s certainly earned the right, and ability, to do that. With quite a bit of Celtic influence at times too, the album as a whole has a super 70’s folk vibe to it, and it feels like that’s exactly what she was going for, especially with all the green, quilted-patterned visuals that go along with it.
Kacey has long been one of my favorite artists in all of music, daring to push the boundaries and do exactly what she wants, and that has never changed. It’s actually more apparent as the years go by, and I find it refreshing that as she has matured, she’s embraced all of her life experiences and muses, and that’s important too.
Kacey’s musical well is deep and wide, with ever-changing and evolving inspirations that feed into everything she releases and is apparent on every song on Deeper Well. If you’ve ever lived somewhere rural, then you know that well water tastes the best beyond a shadow of a doubt… and obviously, the Golden, Texas native (population ~200) knows that all too well.
Let’s have a drink:
“The Architect”
The easy standout for me on this album, “The Architect” was written by Kacey along with Shane McAnally and Josh Obsorne, who are her co-writers on her hit single and all-around incredible song, “Merry Go ‘Round.”
And when Miss Kacey does country… she does country. This song is also her next single at country radio, which I think is a brilliant choice and a really hope it does well (though I’m not holding my breathe because her track record with radio is a story for a whole other post).
Kacey, Shane and Josh are my dream team, and I would absolutely love to see them do an entire album of just songs they wrote together (though I know that’s wishful thinking). Everything they touch is magic, and I would not be surprised to see this on nominated for a Grammy down the road:
“Sway”
This one finds Kacey making sense of life and how she hopes to one day learn to simply bend, not break, when something is thrown her way. In order to find real peace, the ability to do so will yield a better, more simple, quality of life.
“Lonely Millionaire”
Certainly one of the more stark and honest moments on the album in terms of content, Kacey admits that all the money in the world can’t fulfill her deepest desires.
“Anime Eyes”
When I saw the title of this song on the tracklist, I thought there was no way I was going to like it, and no way I was going to relate to it. And while different, and kind of quirky, it’s already grown on me.
Written by Kacey along with her two co-producers, the bridge is a cosmic explosion of Kacey professing all of her confusing, glowing feelings about love and is going to be so fun to scream in the car once I can get it memorized:
“Ridiculous hazy, crazy, rainbow, explosions of ecstasy
Oh my God, the memories
Happy tears overflowing, lightning bolts so overwhelming
Ugly crying, now I’m melting
Turning into flowers blooming
Angels singing, bells are ringing
Baby, I’m a love tsunami, washing over both our bodies
Sailor Moon’s got nothing on me”
I promise, you just need to give it a chance…
“Nothing to be Scared Of”
The final song of the album finds Kacey almost reassuring herself that she’s allowed to fall in love, and maybe even have her heart broken, and it will all work out in the end.
With a simple production that sounds straight from Golden Hour, it’s a beautiful way to end the project and one of the best in my opinion.
And so far, Deeper Well is off to a very hot start in terms of numbers, as Kacey is currently neck and neck with pop star Ariana Grande to score her very first #1 Billboard Album debut, if she can best Ariana in units sold for the first week. Ariana released Eternal Sunshine on March 8th:
You can download the new album HERE or on Kacey’s website, which also includes an exclusive bonus track called “Ruthless.”
Deeper Well tracklist:
1. Cardinal
2. Deeper Well
3. Too Good to be True
4. Moving Out
5. Giver / Taker
6. Sway
7. Dinner with Friends
8. Heart of the Woods
9. Jade Green
10. The Architect
11. Lonely Millionaire
12. Heaven Is
13. Anime Eyes
14. Nothing to be Scared Of
