4.5/5
Pageant Material
Artist: Kacey Musgraves
I am ashamed to say I have spent the two years since Musgraves Grammy-winning debut, Same Trailer Different Park, both anticipating and dreading the follow-up. Having fell pretty hard for tracks like "Merry Go ‘Round" and "Follow Your Arrow,” I could not bare to think of the possibility of a sophomore slump. Thankfully, 2015 has shaped up to be the year of the triumphant second album. Following in the wake of Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Miguel’s Wildheart, Pageant Material finds the frank country songstress returning as riled up as ever.
Stylistically, album two does not veer far from the sound previously established. There is not a song on Pageant Material that would feel out of place on her debut. Musgraves again shares writing credits with Nashville pros Luke Laird and Shane McAnally; but if the sounds remain the same, all three writers have stepped up their game to the next level.
Where the new album differs from the first one is in its consistency. Blame it on the strength of tracks like “Silver Lining,” but throwaway tracks like “Blowin’ Smoke” and “Back on the Map” made Same Trailer a work of drastically varying peaks and valleys. Nothing on Pageant Material matches the quality of “Merry Go ‘Round,” still her best song to date, but the album delivers one standout track after another, leaving no room for filler.
Album opener (and highlight) “High Time” eases us into the good times with handclaps, whistles, and a Latin flavored guitar solo that will have you hitting the repeat button before the first track is even finished. Resist the urge. Track two, “Dime Store Cowgirl,” is one of the year’s best songs. It’s a humbling track that places getting a picture with Willie Nelson as one of life's greatest achievements. Right on. The song also serves as the thematic anchor for the entire album, with “Good Ol’ Boys Club” and “Cup of Tea” both letting us know that Musgraves is not about to play by anyone’s rules. In an industry so far removed from creative friction, especially that of modern day country music, we could all use a little more Kacey Musgraves.
Pageant Material
Artist: Kacey Musgraves
I am ashamed to say I have spent the two years since Musgraves Grammy-winning debut, Same Trailer Different Park, both anticipating and dreading the follow-up. Having fell pretty hard for tracks like "Merry Go ‘Round" and "Follow Your Arrow,” I could not bare to think of the possibility of a sophomore slump. Thankfully, 2015 has shaped up to be the year of the triumphant second album. Following in the wake of Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Miguel’s Wildheart, Pageant Material finds the frank country songstress returning as riled up as ever.
Stylistically, album two does not veer far from the sound previously established. There is not a song on Pageant Material that would feel out of place on her debut. Musgraves again shares writing credits with Nashville pros Luke Laird and Shane McAnally; but if the sounds remain the same, all three writers have stepped up their game to the next level.
Where the new album differs from the first one is in its consistency. Blame it on the strength of tracks like “Silver Lining,” but throwaway tracks like “Blowin’ Smoke” and “Back on the Map” made Same Trailer a work of drastically varying peaks and valleys. Nothing on Pageant Material matches the quality of “Merry Go ‘Round,” still her best song to date, but the album delivers one standout track after another, leaving no room for filler.
Album opener (and highlight) “High Time” eases us into the good times with handclaps, whistles, and a Latin flavored guitar solo that will have you hitting the repeat button before the first track is even finished. Resist the urge. Track two, “Dime Store Cowgirl,” is one of the year’s best songs. It’s a humbling track that places getting a picture with Willie Nelson as one of life's greatest achievements. Right on. The song also serves as the thematic anchor for the entire album, with “Good Ol’ Boys Club” and “Cup of Tea” both letting us know that Musgraves is not about to play by anyone’s rules. In an industry so far removed from creative friction, especially that of modern day country music, we could all use a little more Kacey Musgraves.