By Sara Nigro
Contributor
Kacey Musgraves released her fourth studio album “star-crossed” on Friday, Sept. 10, revealing a brand new sound. Written during the stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, Musgraves demonstrates a stark contrast to her previous album “Golden Hour” as she focuses her attention on her recent divorce from ex-husband Ruston Kelly. She reflects on the entirety of her relationship, analyzing what might have gone wrong, and expresses the emotions that follow these realizations.
The title song “star-crossed” is a perfect opening to the album. The track sets up the rest of the album, giving listeners an idea of what to expect as she explicitly cites the struggles of her divorce. While this song does not necessarily stand out compared to other songs, it acts as an introduction, allowing the audience to understand the purpose of the album they are about to experience.
Released as a single, “justified” is one of the most impressive songs on the album, musically and lyrically. Musgraves bares her soul in this song and expresses the back and forth of a significant relationship with the lyrics: “If I cry just a little and then laugh in the middle / If I hate you and I love you, and then I change my mind.” The message of this song draws parallels to Olivia Rodrigo’s “1 step forward, 3 steps back” off her debut album “SOUR,” as they both demonstrate the constant back and forth between loving and hating another person.
The eleventh track “hookup scene” stuck out to me as a very unique and captivating song for multiple reasons. The intention behind the lyrics explains the importance of human connection, and how empty hookup culture feels to her. She sings hard, hitting lyrics such as, “I make believe it's love then I / Start lookin' for the door” and “It's a chapter that ain't coming back / I could have learned to love it more.” Musgraves reveals how she regrets her lack of gratitude for the love she used to have, telling others to appreciate the love. She also demonstrates her talents musically with stunning harmonies with herself as the song comes to an end, making this song one of my personal favorites on the album.
While there are many favorable songs, there are a few that feel tedious as lyrics repeat and fall flat. For example, “easier said,” “keep lookin’ up” and “what doesn’t kill me” all seemed repetitive as I was listening for the first time, allowing me to neglect the production and original meaning behind the lyrics that might have made the songs more enjoyable to listen to. These songs were easily forgettable, but the rest of the tracks on “star-crossed” make up for it.
Musgraves masters the order in which she places the tracks in her album, allowing the piece as a whole to feel not only cohesive but also well-rounded. She creates a balance between the slower, emotional tracks (“camera roll”) versus the upbeat pop ones (“cherry blossom”), further demonstrating the push and pull of human emotion she accurately portrays.
The theme of this album is the importance of human connection to Musgraves as an individual, which she explores by reflecting on the tragedies of a relationship, and learning from the difficulties life presents to us. While this album doesn’t “match” “Golden Hour,” it seems that “star-crossed” is the natural progression to accurately reflect the changes in her life. Musgraves' music grows and develops as she does, creating storied art that is reflected in her albums.
