Golden Hour

About

<b>100 Best Albums</b> No one saw it coming. Not even Kacey Musgrave. There’s a reason her shocked expression at the 61st Grammy Awards—at which she won Album of the Year—went viral. After all, her 2018 album <i>Golden Hour</i> had been, at that point, the riskiest of her career: A passion project dedicated to fresh love, one the singer made with a new team of producer, and a little bit of LSD. Yet <i>Golden Hour</i> unexpectedly became an award-winning platinum smash, turning Musgraves from a critical darling with a devoted fanbase to a global superstar. Produced by Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian—and recorded in part above Sheryl Crow’s horse barn—<i>Golden Hour</i> is a masterpiece of ethereal country-pop. The 13 tracks here run the gamut from psychedelic to disco-forward, all of them held together by Musgraves’ poignant, witty writing and gorgeously honed vocal delivery. Yet what’s so magical about <i>Golden Hour</i> is that, for all its progression, it never finds Musgraves abandoning the sounds that made her previous albums so electrifying and endearing. “Slow Burn,” in its minor-key opening strum, finds Musgrave pushing her trademark acoustic guitar through a kaleidoscope of new sound, while “Space Cowboy” is a perfect country ballad—the kind of song that feels just as wandering as a lover’s desire. And the album’s closer, “Rainbow,” is a timeless offering of comfort to queer youth: “It’ll all be all right,” she sing. They’re the last words on the album—a potent parting gift. .

via Apple Music

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