Kacey Musgraves’ “star-crossed” album review

Following her 2018 album “Golden Hour,” Kacey Musgraves returns with her latest album “star-crossed,” released on Sept. 10, with an accompanying visual film on Paramount Plus.

Musgraves always seems to put out an album when I need it most. With “Golden Hour,” I was experiencing love for the first time, and the album reflected how it felt to be in love. 

Three years later, I am going through heartbreak for the first time, and Musgraves is going through a divorce, which inspired “star-crossed.”

This album, told in three acts, starts with the titular song “star-crossed.” This was a perfect introduction to the album — Musgraves captivates her audience with the story that is about to unfold. 

From the angelic voices leading us in, to the Spanish guitar, all of it was a beautiful start to the album. 

Musgraves blends her country roots with newer pop sounds, and we see this in the next couple of songs in the album. The video for “good wife” truly is something spectacular, and the song itself is amazing. 

The song “cherry blossom” is gorgeous; I love the way Musgraves incorporated traditional Japanese instrumentals into the song.  

The fourth track on the album, “simple times,” is a relatable song about being overwhelmed with growing up — a stand out line in the song is “wish that I could put this game on pause, skip this round, take the headset off,” which really hits home. 

Something admirable about Musgraves is her writing skill. With every song, the lyrics are so beautiful and full of meaning that a lot of people can relate to.

The song “if this was a movie” ends act one; it also pivots us into the sounds present throughout the rest of the album. We all want our lives to be perfect, and this song encapsulates the wanting of that feeling. 

Act two starts with “justified,” which has more of a straight country feel to it, which is abundantly felt in the next song “angel.” It is not the most exciting song on the album, but functions to bring things back down after hearing “justified.”

As mentioned before, the inspiration for this album was Musgraves’ divorce, and in “breadwinner” you can feel the anger that she has toward her ex-husband.  

If you listen to any song on this album, I highly recommend you listen to “camera roll,” my personal favorite. This song captures the feeling of a breakup, drawing on the pain of going through your camera roll and seeing the happy relationship that you once had. 

Such a modern task, yet there are very few songs that discuss this hard topic. 

The song “easier said” ends act two. If this song had a better placement in the album, I believe I probably would have liked it more. 

To start the final act of the album, Musgraves strips down to a simple song consisting of her voice and a guitar for the song “hookup scene.” Upon first listen, I cried to this song. It relates to the kind of standards we have now when it comes to dating. 

This song takes the feeling of not being satisfied and amplifies it. This is another song I recommend everyone listen to; simple yet beautiful at the same time. 

The shakiest part of the album for me happens with the songs “keep looking up” and “what doesn’t kill me.” They are fine songs, but lack something the songs before them had. The two could have been better all around. 

Thankfully, things look up again with the song “there is a light.” Musgraves combines elements of country, disco, and pop all into one with this song and I personally am a big fan. 

The album ends with “gracias a la vida,” which is a cover of Mercedes Sosa’s version of the song. Musgraves did a good job of keeping the same flavor that the original song has while making it her own. It was a gorgeous end to the album. 

While it may not be as perfect as “Golden Hour,” “star-crossed” still is truly a beautiful album. I am excited to see more from Musgraves, and cannot wait to cry to this album live at her concert.