My tastes in music runs from The Allman Brothers Band, Derek and the Dominoes, The Stones, Trower, Led Zeppelin, to Ricky Nelson. So it may come as a surprise that I tell one and all that Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour is well worth a listen.
The Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association both awarded Golden Hour as the 2019 album of the year. In addition, the Grammy Awards picked Golden Hour as the Country Album Of The Year.
I don’t know how country Golden Hour is. It’s nothing like anything else in country music these days. Certainly no Miranda Lambert or Carrie Underwood…or Keith Urban or Jason Aldean for that matter. But the country music folk claim Musgraves as one of their own. So there you go.
As far as any comparison goes, Shawn Colvin comes to mind…but not quite. One can occasionally hear a banjo, mandolin and pedal steel guitar sneaking in the background here and there; but to my sensibilities, that’s as far as country it gets.
All that being said, Golden Hour is deep and heartfelt album. An assembly of songs of easily recognizable human emotions and predicaments. I am particularly fond of “Oh, What A World” and “Happy & Sad”. Give it a listen; then play it a few times more. I promise it’ll grow on you.
