Kacey Musgraves — Music Reviews

This is Musgraves’ second major label album and is as distinctive and pleasing as her first one, Same Trailer Different Park. While the first album caused shock waves in Nashville (drug use! same sex affection!), the songs were not only well-written, but wouldn’t have caused a raised eyebrow outside the Nashville city limits. What was overlooked in the fuss over content in the first album was Ms Musgraves’ innate musicality and great voice, both of which feature bitgtime in Pageant Material.

Many of Kacey’s songs seem more personal this time, particularly Dime Store Cowgirl,This Town (which features a spoken clip of her grandmother) and the title track Pageant Material. They are sharply observed tales of the dynamics of a small town upbringing and life. Late to the Party by contrast is an out-and-out gentle love song reflecting on the merits of a private two person party’s being far better than a real party.

Biscuits, Miserable and Family is Family are more like Merry Go ‘Round and Follow Your Arrow from the first album, wry and ironic truisms that reinforce Musgraves’ position as one of the finest lyricists working in modern country music. Her duet with Willie Nelson on his Are you Sure? is a lovely acoustic workout, but why is it a ‘hidden track’, something I loathe.

Pageant Material is again produced by Musgraves, Luke Laird, and Shane MacAnally. Laird is among the excellent players - as is the wonderful Charlie Worsham on acoustic guitar, banjo and guitalele. The album features plenty of pedal steel, guitar, banjo and gorgeous strings, well arranged by Jordan Lehning.

Kacey’s heroines are Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn and either of them would be proud to have come out with an album this good. She wants to ‘write good songs – good country songs’ and Pageant Material is full of them, perfectly presented and sung. Kacey may not have been pageant material in her childhood in Texas, but in modern country she is a winner all the way.

Musgraves is another young songwriter who shows why women are leading the way to something more heartfelt and also balancing the increasingly pop-orientated output of Taylor Swift and the like. Texas born Kasey’s songs tend to have a similar edge those of Loretta Lynn. Merry Go Round is built around prominent banjo riff and tells of life for so many young people who seem trapped in a life that goes round and round going nowhere, much like the merry go round of the title. It has received a lot of attention in the U.S. Elsewhere the album looks at the attitudes and alienations that modern life tends to throw up. Blowin' Smoke, Keep It to Yourself and Step Off all consider the morals, moves and motivations of people Musgraves observes around her, yet she can also look at herself and express what she feels in song.

Kacey has co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally and it is a contemporary mix of acoustic and electric instruments in a polished combination which should appeal to the more open of radio programmers. On occasion, as with Stupid, the beat is kicked up a notch in an anthem-like refrain to acting stupid. Follow Your Arrow shoots at the hypocritical confines that all too often society levels at those in its midst. It has a fairly hippie-esque philosophy of "say what you think… you only live once", a plea to live and let live. Throughout Musgraves is a convincing vocalist who delivers these songs with a believability that marks her out as an all rounder with something honest to say.

It may be the same trailer and a different park but there is something here that makes a whole lot of sense no matter where the location is.