I consciously put my hesitations aside and gave the album an honest chance. It's not good. Breadwinner is horrific. Like another user noted, this record is an immature expression of heartbreak, made worse by the sales pitch delivered leading up to its release. Not to be hyperbolic, but this album is so bad it actually makes me downrate Golden Hour.
Thanks was staring at the runout grooves with the initials next to the runouts trying to figure out who that was off the top of my head. He did the last Fiona Apple too and did a good job, gave my teal copy a wet clean and threw on Golden Hour before giving it the maiden voyage
The production choices just feel bad and/or wrong. The repeated use of acoustic guitar with a generic drum machine and electronic backing is awful. The production actually takes away from some of the better songs, which aren’t the majority. She should have gathered up her last dozen co-writers and done something memorable and meaningful. I’ve been married for 20 years. For her to take a marriage of a few years with no children and act like it the biggest tragedy ever, yet still not so sacred that you can’t make it a cheesy marketing angle is lame and immature. It shows why she could (CO)write an album all about their never ending love and a few years later be divorced and marketing your album about that same “love”. I sat through about 10 minutes of the mini movie promoting it tonight and it was hair, makeup and costumes with some lame choreography posing as art. She just wants to be a pop star guys. Time to move on
Of course her divorce was a tragedy to her, she lived through it. Then she wrote about it because (surprise!) that's the kind of thing songwriters do, and her fans are along for the ride because they presumably like the music Kacey writes about her life and experiences. I don't think her album cycle is any more pretentious than your review writing the whole thing off as mediocre and worthless because it doesn't pander to your specific tastes, but to each their own
Heard it today. I normally very much like Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. For melodies, this is fairly good and may even be a grower. But as others have said, I was really really really taken aback by the seeming immaturity and haste in some of her lyrics. I did like "Good Wife" and thought it got close to getting at something a little more universal and meaningful. But in a lot of the laments, both she and and her ex come across as very self-centered in the way that older folks sometimes lampoon when talking about the millennial generation. So in a sense, she's stepped right into that obvious trap.
I’m not completely geling with the album overall just yet, but I agree on There is a Light, that flute is so fun! I wish there was a little more in this vein the closing movement. As far as I’m concerned this is the legitimate closing track.
On my first listen, and while I don't think it has as many standout tracks as its predecessor, I love the intimate feel to the music, production and lyrics. Incredible clarity in the mix and master, too. Bright and loud, yes, but that's par for the course in 2021. I can see myself listening to this for months to come.
I have to disagree with this., as she's approached this in a very mature and insightful way, no recrimination and egocentric hurt but looking at her inability to make the match work. Old folks could learn a lot from her and it's a great pop album 8/10 compared to Golden Hour's 9.5/10.
yea this is a pure pop album with country tinges. When i first heard golden hour i passed on it. I had heard slow burn and thought it was quite lovely but the rest of the album was a "girl" album about relationships. It wasn't until a year or 2 after that somone pointed out the song "oh what a world" to me. Which i must of overlooked...When i heard that i became i believer and bought the album. I'm not seeing that kind of a song on this album. lyrics are all pretty plain. idk... maybe a year or 2 later someone will help be get this album as well..
I love the first two albums and like Golden Hour but star-crossed is bad, IMO. Blood On The Tracks it ain't.
I hope so. I LOVED her vocals on the new Flaming Lips album “American Head” but I’m allergic to country music.
She sold out Danforth on the first leg of last tour, and then Sony Center really quickly on the second leg. She likely won't sell out the arena, but that's the logical next place to play. Plus an arena tour in the US, not going to downscale load in/out for smaller venues. Looks like it's already about 50% sold, despite the insane platinum prices for some seats.
For some reason thought this was coming out later in the month! Looking forward to listening--really enjoyed Golden Hour, and return to it often.
My copy arrived yesterday but I haven't spun it. Needless to say, I am very surprised by the wide variety of opinions. Max, the lead singer of the Arkells (here in Canada) was slobbering over it on Twitter the other day.
Well it has scored a 77 so far on Metacritic which represents "Generally Favorable Reviews". Scores of 80+ represent "Universal Acclaim" (if any of this means anything to anyone). Star-Crossed by Kacey Musgraves Reviews and Tracks - Metacritic Edit: For reference, "Golden Hour" scored an 89. Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves Reviews and Tracks - Metacritic
It really is a grower. After listening to it about 5 or 6 times, I now think it's her best album up to now. Even the closing track which annoyed me at first I now find to be beautiful. Although Golden Hour is a really fine album, I've never reassessed it in this way. The weak spots are still weak spots to me. If you disliked Golden Hour because it wasn't country enough, you probably won't find much to enjoy about Star-Crossed however.
Funny. That's pretty much my experience. This is really an album that opens up and reveals itself as you get acquinted with it. Amazing how expectations can play tricks on you.
