Golden Hour

booooooring, 2/5

This honestly sounds like if Taylor Swift hadn't went straight pop and kept the country in her music. Complete with the same weird turns of phrases ("I was hiding in doubt 'til you brought me out of my chrysalis") and same tortured metaphors.

All that said though, this is pretty solid pop country. Some good compositions going on in this one (Oh, What A World with its somewhat OK Computer era Radiohead stuff going on, Lonely Weekend).

I'm mostly just whelmed by this, but I am enjoying my time with it.

Seriously I haven't got the slightest clue why the fuck this made the list. It sounds like quasi-inspirational, psuedo-"deep" royalty free AI generated YouTube background music. Like something that would soundtrack a weight loss journey slideshow. It offers absolutely nothing remotely compelling or different to other country albums already in the book.

Now I've listened to Kacey Musgraves properly, I think I graduate into a full-time homosexual.

Lots to love here. I already knew the rainbow song, but anyone encountering that for the first time is in for a treat. Obviously the slower sadder songs are best

I knew I wouldn't love it based on the genre. But I was willing to give it an fair and honest listen. It's truly bad.

Дуже приємний кантрі-поп альбом, я поставив 3.5, але тут якщо між 3 та 4 обирати, то візьму 4. Особливо через пісню slow burn, це прям кайф.

Es ist ein warmes, sonnendurchflutetes Country‑Pop‑Album, das mit schwebenden Synths und weichen Melodien oft wunderschön klingt. Kacey Musgraves trifft diesen ruhigen, glitzernden Sweet Spot zwischen Folk und Pop, aber vieles bleibt eher sanft als zwingend. Die Stimmung ist konstant angenehm, nur selten wirklich überraschend.

I remember quite liking this at the time but I feel like everything sounds like this now. Maybe it was influential? Still a bit too polished and bland.

Awful, awful, AWFUL! Mostly pop drivel, but mixes in a lot of country to make it sound even worse. Not a single redeeming element here.

The definition of country music has certainly changed. The only thing that’s “country” about this album is the lyrics, which even those could be questionable as there’s not much talk of tractors or beer (I kid and am thankful). She’s got a good voice and the music is pretty most of the time. Not earth shattering, but decent. 3/5

pop country is good for some

country pop meets 90s indie rock . Pleasant and accessible.

Not gonna lie, first track I wasn’t liking this at all. I thought this had one star written all over it. Thankfully after that it grew on me pretty quickly and by the end of Oh What A World I was loving life.

I did go back after and listen to Slow Burn again. Still not fussed on it. Rest of the album is a belter though.

Waited patiently for it to end. Not a bad album, but music for a department store, inoffensive, but just about interesting enough to not give up on. Never really got going?

Big win for the country genre. For an album that so effectively distances itself from the stereotypical sounds and themes of country, I did find it funny that a Chevy Silverado truck *had* to get a mention nonetheless. Lovely songs all around!

Standouts: Slow Burn • Love Is A Wild Thing

𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘳 is a pleasant album, but not quite the country record I was expecting. While there are occasional country touches, the music leans much more heavily towards polished pop, leaving me wishing those roots had played a bigger role.

What kept me listening was Kacey Musgraves herself. Her warm, expressive voice is the album’s greatest strength, bringing charm and sincerity even to songs that I found fairly average.

As a pop album, 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘳 works well enough. As a country album, though, it left me wanting more. In the end, I enjoyed it, but I never felt it rose much above being a solid, if unremarkable, listen.

What a trivial pop album—so generic and forgettable. I've heard similar, uninteresting songs a thousand times. Now I could associate it with a name. But I'd rather just forget that one right away, too. 2/5

It’s still more boring country. Meh

Listened to this on a camping trip out in the Olympics. It made it a bit more interesting, but on second listen driving home there are a lot of boring duds on this album. Slow Burn and Rainbow are good bookends. 2.3/5 -> 2/5

I was on vacation so I have a giant backlog of albums to get through. This is my second country album in 3 days, and if this keeps up I'm going to be caught up a lot quicker than expected.