Deeper Well Kacey Musgraves

• 1 Cardinal 03:11
• 2 Deeper Well 03:52
• 3 Too Good to be True 02:40
• 4 Moving Out 03:09
• 5 Giver / Taker 03:10
• 6 Sway 03:11
• 7 Dinner with Friends 02:57
• 8 Heart of the Woods 02:16
• 9 Jade Green 02:58
• 10 The Architect 02:57
• 11 Lonely Millionaire 03:06
• 12 Heaven Is 02:44
• 13 Anime Eyes 03:18
• 14 Nothing to be Scared Of 02:33
• Total Runtime 42:02

Info for Deeper Well

The music on Deeper Well, the six-time Grammy winner’s fifth album, is almost chimeric. Rolling acoustic guitars, puffy clouds of strings and synth, warm bass punctuations, layered harmonies, moments of Celtic melody and plenty of room on the tracks for Musgraves’ silvery vocals. On the bright, almost folky title track, the 30-something songstress surveys her life and priorities, recognizing what feeds her, drains her and even examines the childhood she’s left behind on her way to now.

Musgraves co-produced Deeper Well with longtime collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. Inspired by the energy of New York City’s Greenwich Village and its rich musical history, Musgraves recorded a good portion of the new album at the legendary Electric Lady studios. “I was seeking some different environmental energy, and Electric Lady has the best mojo. Great ghosts,” noted Musgraves. With her keen observations of the world and discerning eye for the subtle nuances of life, Musgraves’ lyrics serve as a lens focusing on moments of life that often go unnoticed, turning them into timeless songs that strike a chord deep within listeners. Saturn returns, cardinals embody a dead friend, love is given and taken, streets rush by, belongings are packed and old chapters deserted, new love blooms, jade bracelets serve as talismans, deep lessons emerge, small details define everything, the woods are a refuge and New York City serves as the same gleaming beacon as Oz. While most of the 14 tracks are penned by Musgraves with Fitchuk and Tashian, Kacey is also reunited with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne for beautifully contemplative track “The Architect” (see full track listing below).

Title track and first single “Deeper Well” is out now, with a companion video directed by Hannah Lux Davis (Kacey Musgraves, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj). On the bright, almost folky title track, Kacey surveys her life and priorities. Recognizing what feeds her, what drains her and examining what’s left behind on the way to empowerment. “Sometimes you reach a crossroads. Winds change direction. What you once felt drawn to doesn’t hold the same allure,” Kacey went on to say, “you get blown off course but eventually find your footing and forage for new inspiration, new insight and deeper love somewhere else.”

Deeper Well is the follow up to Musgraves’ 2021 album star-crossed, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Albums Sales chart and earned wide critical praise. star-crossed is the follow up to Musgraves’ groundbreaking 2018 album Golden Hour, which earned Kacey her third #1 debut on Billboard’s Top Country Album chart and distinguished her as only the third artist ever to take home Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, Country Music Association Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards. In 2023 Musgraves achieved her first #1 entry on the Hot 100 chart for “I Remember Everything,” a duet with Zach Bryan. “I Remember Everything” is the first country music duet in 40 years since Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ “Islands in the Stream” (1983) to reach this feat. “I Remember Everything” just won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song by a Duo or Group at the 66th annual ceremony held earlier this week. This latest win makes Musgraves the only artist in history to receive a Grammy Award for Best Country Album, Best Country Song, Best Country Solo performance and Best Country Duo or Group performance.

Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves
There are different masks we all wear that represent different sides of ourselves. None are solely us on their own and yet they all are. There’s the lonely girl – the blissful girl – the new wife – the daughter missing her mother – the hopeful girl – the selfish girl – the sarcastic, hair-sprayed, rhinestoned Texan – the shy girl, the life of the party – the winner and the loser… They are all characters on this record. None of them alone are me, and yet they all are. The golden hour is when all the masks come together as one and you can see, in perfect light, the whole picture of me.

In early 2016, when Kacey Musgraves finally set some time aside to start writing again, she was in a confused place. When she broke through in 2013 with Same Trailer, Different Park she was instantly recognized as one of music’s most original new voices in years; she was named “New Artist of the Year” by the Country Music Association and awarded both Best Country Song and Best Country Album at the Grammys, as well as an Academy of Country Music trophy for Best Album. Her 2015 follow-up, Pageant Material, also reached Number One on the charts, and received another batch of accolades and award nominations.

But now she was frustrated, unsure which road she wanted to take…what she wanted to say or how she wanted it to sound. And then, just as soon as she got off the road, slowed down, and began to re-focus on simply enjoying being creative again, she met singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly—who has since become her husband.

“Almost immediately, I could feel a metamorphosis happening,” Musgraves says. “I was feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a long time, and it started pouring out in ideas and songs. I had never really written a ‘love song’ and felt sincere about it. Now for the first time, I had that perspective, and it didn’t feel cheesy or contrived.”

The journey that she took is chronicled in Golden Hour, her third album (in addition to 2016’s acclaimed A Very Kacey Christmas, a Top Ten hit on the Holiday charts). It marks a more personal, emotional chapter for a songwriter who has been celebrated for her piercing observations and finely-hewn storytelling.

“I had a different mindset this time, which was feeling rather than thinking—leading heart first, rather than brain first,” she says. “I’ve always been known for my turns of phrase, for being clever, but you can wear that out at a certain point, so what other side am I inspired to show?

“It’s a little scary, because I don’t want my music to come across any less biting or smart. But I think there’s another strength that comes from leaving more up to the listener and painting with other colors—not being so linear all the time.”

With Golden Hour, one of pop music’s greatest young talents takes a powerful step, broadening her range, expanding her canvas, creating new possibilities. “I’ve always been a commentator on society and the human race,” says Kacey Musgraves. “With what’s going on politically and socially, it’s a really scary time, and it could be easy to focus on the negative aspects and lean too hard on the things we all want to see change. But it was also important to me to inject some hope, love, and color with this music. My life right now has allowed me to see the magic in the world.”

This album contains no booklet.