Kacey Musgraves, star-crossed | Album Review 💿

On Star-crossed, Kacey Musgraves does a fine job executing a divorce album, and continues expanding (or distancing herself from) country. 

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ollowing up a juggernaut is difficult, anyway you look at it.  🏆 Grammy-winning country musician 🎙 Kacey Musgraves delivered her best work with her 2018 album, 💿 Golden Hour.  How was she rewarded? How about Album of the Year? Life has sense brought the talented singer/songwriter down, specifically, divorce.  Unsurprisingly, her fourth studio album, 💿 Star-crossed, is a divorce album through and through.  Musgraves reminisces on the good times, the bad times, the problems, and ultimately, finds the strength to soldier on.  She does so on an album that is her least country to date (even with country storylines of expired love) yet also feels true to who she is.  All in all, Star-crossed is compelling even if at times, it’s a wee bit too mellow and hard to categorize stylistically. 

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“Star-crossed”

“Let me set the scene / Two lovers ripped right at the seams.” Early on 🎵 “Star-crossed,” the title track, Kacey Musgraves sets the tone of the album.  She’s honest and transparent about divorcing 🎙 Ruston Kelly, sans naming him explicitly.  Notably, the opener features one sole verse post-intro, followed by a reflective chorus and an outro that utters “star-crossed” more times than I care to count.  We’ve become accustomed with Musgraves not sounding country, and “Star-crossed” takes that to the next level with those psychedelic, dreamy synths, which represent romance now expired.  

Musgraves keeps divorce front and center on the standout, ✅ 🎵 “Good Wife,” where she tries to give her all to her hubby. “Help me let go of all the things that make me mad,” she sings on the second verse, adding, “At the end of the day, he’s gotta know that I’ve got his back.” Telling lyrics for sure. On the bridge, she asserts, “And the truth is / I could probably make it on my own / But without him, this house just wouldn’t be a home / And I don’t wanna be alone.” I appreciate the authenticity she brings to the table, as well as the groovy production (Musgraves, Daniel Tashian, and Ian Fitchuk) that, again, isn’t country in the least (and I’m fine with that).  

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“Cherry Blossom”

“I’m your cherry blossom, baby / Don’t let me blow away,” Musgraves sings on the memorable chorus of 🎵 “Cherry Blossom.” She adds, “I hope you haven’t forgotten / Tokyo wasn’t built in a day.” Here, on another groovy joint, not only does Kacey flip a beloved adage (Rome wasn’t built in a day), but she also seems to suggest love, a relationship, and marriage takes a long-term investment to get right.  Adding to the colorful nature of the lyrics is picturesque production, that helps the listener visualize the beauty of the cherry blossoms in Tokyo, Japan.  On 🎵 “Simple Times,” Musgraves wants to return to better days – simpler times.  However, at this point, life and the plight of love have hit her and it’s messing with her.  If she could escape – “Put this game on pause / Skip this round” – she’d feel better.  She has a point, accentuated even more thanks to continually embracing those mellow, psychedelic vibes.

🎵 “If this was a movie..” continues to find Musgraves in full on escapism mode.  If “Simple Times” found Kacey looking back to, say, the carefree times of her youth, “If this was a movie..” sort of reflects on having a fairytale ending without the heartbreak and pain.  “If this was a movie / Love would be enough,” she sings on the second verse, continuing, “To save us from the darkness that’s inside both of us / And we’d get away and we’d be okay.” Unfortunately, life and love specifically don’t work that way. Promo single ✅ 🎵 “Justified”, of course, confirmed that Musgraves was dropping a divorce LP. “It was a fun, strange summer / I rolled on, didn’t think of you,” she sings on the first verse, continuing, “We lost touch with each other / Fall came and I had to move.” The verses on find her reflecting on the state of things.  The first focuses on the aftermath of the divorce.  The second is also reflective, but looks back on the relationship itself, prior to ending. “And when you lied, said you didn’t want me / Tell me, what was I supposed to do?” The chorus, as well as the bridge, sums up conflicted feelings she experiences, highlighted by the assertion “That I [You] shoulda treated you [me] right.” 

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“Angel”

Kacey Musgraves continues to be honest and open on ✅ 🎵 “Angel,” another standout from Star-Crossed.  On this ballad, she admits to being imperfect, taking some responsibility for the end of her marriage.  On the chorus, if she were indeed angelic – once more taking an escapist approach – she sings, “I’d pull you out of the darkness / Keep you out of the rain / Everything would be better / I’d never have to change.” Of course, ‘it takes two to tangle’ so, the dissolution of the marriage isn’t solely on her. 

She follows with another intriguing gem, ✅ 🎵 “Breadwinner,” which digs into one specific issue that may have contributed to the end of Kacey and Ruston.  “He wants your shimmer / To make him feel bigger,” she sings on the chorus, adding, “Until he starts feeling insecure.” Musgraves has become a big name in the music industry, while her ex-, Ruston, who is talented, mind you, hasn’t achieved the same degree of success.  Perhaps, Kacey has a point when she says, “He’s never gonna know what to do / With a woman like you.” 🎵 “Camera Roll” naturally piques interest before ever listening to it – it can unleash a can of worms.  In the case of Star-Crossed, revisiting pictures tortures Kacey.  “Chronological order and nothing but torture,” she sings, “Scroll too far back, that’s what you get.” Honestly, that sentiment with pictures can be applied to any number of situations, particularly when you look back to when you were younger and a few pounds lighter 😆.

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“Easier Said”

Ballad 🎵 “Easier Said” focuses on the idiom, “easier said than done,” which appears at the end of the chorus.  Musgraves keeps things simple here.  Basically, after experiencing love, she realizes how arduous it is.  Yep, that’s about the size of it.  Unfortunately, ✅ 🎵 “Hookup Scene” isn’t nearly as titillating as the title suggests.  In all honesty, Musgraves shuts down the notion it could be risqué with the first few lines of the first verse: “This hookup scene / Ain’t all that it’s made out to be / You get your fill and leave empty / More lonely than before.”  Her revelation is wise on this stripped ballad with gorgeous, harmonized backing vocals.  Once again, she returns to her ended marriage, seeming to long for love in all it’s glory.  “If you’ve got someone to love / And you’ve almost given up / Hold on tight…” 

Musgraves continues to be wise on 🎵 “Keep Lookin’ Up,” which seeks to take adversity head on.  She remembers her childhood and the advice given to her by her father.  Sure, she’s had plenty of hardships, with the divorce being the latest, but it won’t stop her from “Keep lookin’ up.”  A perfect follow-up is 🎵 “What Doesn’t Kill Me,” whose title is short for, what doesn’t kill me (you) makes me (you) stronger.  Even as Kacey states, “Golden Hour faded black” and “You’re gonna feel me /… Better run,” she doesn’t do so ‘assertively.’ Musgrave maintains her usual, chilled-out persona – tripped-out yet firmly ‘woke’ to overcoming divorce. Worth noting, musically, “What Doesn’t Kill Me” has a bit more oomph compared to much of Star-crossed. 

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“There is a Light”

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel / There is a light inside of me.” Indeed, Kacey Musgraves, indeed! ✅ 🎵 “There is a Light” seems to find the singer/songwriter picking herself up after the devastation of heartbreak. Many times, Musgraves has questioned herself, shouldering ample fault for the divorce.  Here, she’s embracing the light and seems to be finding herself and worth again.  “There was a shadow of a doubt / But baby, it’s never going out.” One thing is for sure about the jazzy, dance vibes of “There is a Light” – it’s not getting played on country radio! Star-Crossed concludes unexpectedly with a cover of 🎵 “Gracias a la vida” written by 🎼✍ Violeta Parra). Should anyone be surprised? Probably not when it’s Kacey Musgraves at the helm.  This Chilean classic (“Thanks to life”) gets a haunting treatment.  It sticks with you for sure as the final statement of the album.

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Final Thoughts 💭 

You know what I love about Kacey Musgraves? She’s bold and unafraid to record the type of music that she wants to.  She embodies her ‘controversial’ song, 🎵 “Follow Your Arrow”.   No, Star-Crossed doesn’t supersede her masterwork, 💿 Golden Hour, but she does a fine job of capturing the flashbacks of love and the aftermath of divorce.  By the end of the record, she seems to have found peace and seeks to move forward.  Ultimately, I’d say Star-crossed meets expectations, even if it moves Musgraves further away from country and doesn’t feel like a pop album per se.  If nothing else, it’s intriguing. 

✅ Gems 💎: “Good Wife,” “Justified,” “Angel,” “Breadwinner,” “Hookup Scene” & “There is a Light”  

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🎙 Kacey Musgraves • 💿 star-crossed • 🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. / MCA Nashville • 🗓 9.10.21
[📷: UMG Recordings, Inc. / MCA Nashville]

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