Since releasing her 2013 Grammy-winning debut album Same Trailer, Different Park, Texas-born Kacey Musgraves has gained a reputation on and far beyond Nashville’s Music Row for sharp songwriting, unique vocal style and devil-may-care boldness on songs such as “Blowin’ Smoke,” “Merry Go ‘Round,” “Slow Burn” and “Follow Your Arrow.” Her music has delved into country-disco sounds (“High Horse”), raw, poetic optimism (“Rainbow”), angelic pop (“Star-Crossed”) and other modern takes on retro-country parameters.
On Middle of Nowhere, her seventh studio album, she again delves into tightly constructed lyricism and pared-back and traditional Texas country-leaning instrumentation to forge a sound that is sure to draw comparisons to some of her earliest albums. She includes a handful of smart collaborations that range from the familiar (fellow Texan Willie Nelson, with whom she’s recorded before on songs such as “Are You Sure”) to less expected (she teams with Miranda Lambert on “Horses & Divorces,” as well as Gregory Alan Isakov and bluegrass rocker Billy Strings elsewhere on the album).
Throughout, Musgraves analyzes lost love and a new season of solitude through a myriad of outlooks, among them longing (“Middle of Nowhere”), pent-up rage (“Uncertain, TX”), denial (“Back on the Wagon”), self-reliance (“Dry Spell”) and reluctance to enter a new relationship (“Coyote”). Elsewhere, she shoots barbs at those who cosplay cowboy/cowgirl culture and adds a relief-finding solution to heartbreak (“Rhinestoned”). Throughout the album, Musgraves also earnestly pays homage to the indelible influences of Mexican musical styles and heritage on country music, weaving in elements of ranchera and Norteño.
Lyrically, this album stands among her most compelling to date, with unfiltered stories that are unafraid of embracing sharp emotional edges, while washes of pedal steel, and accordion punctuate her revisiting of some of the Western country textures that shaped some of her earlier albums, though this time, she explores them more expansively, with striking results.
Below, Billboard ranks every song on the album.
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“Abilene”
Over an elegant, sultry melody, Musgraves unfolds the storyline of a woman with “hands always gettin’ cut from pickin’ up the pieces,” who after repeatedly being overworked and under-appreciated, decides to rupture the cycle. She suddenly leaves Abilene in the dust and along the way, meets a guy her daddy would disapprove of. The song ends as the narrator admits being temporarily seduced by the story into contemplating making her own escape, but resists her own urge to slip past the Abilene city limits, and decides instead to stay rooted her longtime home. Musgraves’ haunting voice makes the song even more enchanting. — JESSICA NICHOLSON
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“Horses & Divorces” (with Miranda Lambert)
Musgraves and Lambert put aside a longstanding beef to sing about two things they have in common: horses and divorces. The gently swaying song, which features a mariachi band, directly addresses their past issues and focuses on what they have in common, which, in addition to horses and divorces, includes drinking and, of course, their shared love for Willie Nelson. A fun novelty song that buries the hatchet and entertains, but seems like a bit of an outlier. — MELINDA NEWMAN
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“Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy” (with Billy Strings)
Musgraves teams with bluegrass luminary Billy Strings on this takedown of people joining in on Western fashion without committing to the lifestyle’s required hard work and grit. “I bet most of these boots have probably never seen any dirt,” she sings, accompanied on vocals and guitar by Strings as she laments those who chase style over substance and are drawn to every fleeting impulse. This understated-yet-pointed track doesn’t need overdone instrumentation to get its point across. — J.N.
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“Back on the Wagon”
There are so many red flags waving during this track, one of the twangiest tunes on the set, that the song should come with a trigger warning for anyone who has been in relationship with a self-saboteur and keeps going back. The protagonist is in such severe denial that things will be different this time that it’s hard to listen as she catalogs her man’s former misdeeds but still tells her friends, “He’s caused so much pain/but this time he’s changed/so don’t try to drag him.” We know how this story ends. Musgraves’ trusting performance (although she may know she’s only lying to herself), makes the song all the more affecting. — M.N.
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“Middle of Nowhere”
Unhurried, dreamy guitar, washes of pedal steel and tightly woven vocal harmonies lead off this album, as Musgraves sets a vibe of self-assured escapism, one both physical and emotional, as she sings of heading off to a place beyond even even the confines of small towns. She’s seeking wide open landscapes with no cell service, and “no reckless men who don’t know what they want.” This breezy yet determined track serves as a nice setup for the themes of self-reliance that permeate the album. — J.N.
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“Mexico Honey”
Musgraves’ dry spell is definitely over as she gets down south of the border in more ways than one. Her rapid-fire delivery adds to the flirty fun of the song which plays out in real time. A dreamy bridge adds to the sexy, romantic vibe. Sultry and breezy. — M.N.
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“Uncertain, TX” (with Willie Nelson)
These two Texas titans team up on this song (which takes its name from an actual small Texas town) capturing a state of emotional limbo after a lover repeatedly wavers on commitment. Musgraves takes the lead here, as Nelson offers up support vocals, creating a classic country dynamic. As the song progresses, the protagonist’s frustration with the romantic uncertainty builds until Musgraves unleashes fury on the final lines, venting exasperation about a partner who won’t make up their “dusty, old, love-bombin’, snake-charmin’, bullsh–in’, heartbreakin’, godforsaken, dumba– mind.” This song is sure to be a fan favorite. — J.N.
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“Dry Spell”
It’s been 335 days since any man has been up in Musgraves’ business and, as she sings, she’s “lonely with a capital H.” The clever song, with its spare guitar work, comes up with as many ways as someone could possibly come up with to say that she’s been abstinent and she’s ready for the dry spell to end…immediately. As the first song released from the set, it invites the listener into the intensely personal journey explored throughout the album, but doesn’t hint how rocky the road is ahead. — M.N.
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“Rhinestoned”
This rich, retro-tilted track finds Musgraves singing of two jilted people who find a way to overcome their respective broken hearts together. “Let’s put a little sparkle on until the heartache and the sadness is gone,” she sings, nonchalantly suggesting the two let their pain float away on a particular haze. This feels like a perfect addition to an easygoing, summer night soundtrack. — J.N.
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“Loneliest Girl”
Musgraves enumerates all the pluses to being on her own but confesses she is “the loneliest girl in the world” in this sweet, pedal steel-anchored tune. She tries to convince the listener that no one needs to pity her and that she’s quite happy with her current unattached status, but she’s not entirely convincing. — M.N.
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“I Believe in Ghosts”
Musgraves and company elevate the tempo here, also adding grizzled, bluesy-rock guitar riffs that artfully balance Musgraves’ own silky, breathy voice. “All of the leaves they were changing and so were you,” she depicts a fall season where both the weather and a lover’s affections have turned cold. One of the album’s more pop-dance oriented tracks, this song drenches heartbreak with wisened lyrics and healing dance grooves. — J.N.
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“Hell on Me”
The album closer is an acoustic-guitar-based confessional that serves as a throwback to “Angel” from star-crossed. Both songs refer to a horribly broken relationship using much of the same imagery. “I tried to be your angel, but you made it hell on me,” Musgraves sings in “Hell on Me,” adding “I always do this, wind up losin’/my light in someone else’s dark.” It’s a down note to end the album on but certainly shows that the ways of love are never smooth. — M.N.
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“Coyote” (with Gregory Alan Isakov)
On an album full of them, “Coyote” contains one of Musgraves’ most vulnerable, affecting vocal performances. In the haunting, simply track, Musgraves and Isakov, who provides ethereal backing vocals, sing of a past (and perhaps current) love who was easily spooked by anyone who got too close. Both the reticent lover and the person reaching out end up getting burned. Gorgeous and poignant. — M.N.
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