Having recently gotten into Noah Kahan because of Stick Season, I found Kacey Musgraves through the collaboration on “She Calls Me Back.” As a new lover of folk, I decided to give her her newest album, Deeper Well, a listen, and overall, the album did not disappoint.
“Deeper Well” has a strong pre-chorus, which kept me singing along to the pretty guitar picking as the other instrumentals gradually mixed in. The lyrics discuss growing up, and how “there’s two kinds of people, one is a giver/and one’s always trying to take,” which references another track, “Giver / Taker.” This is a clever move that ties the tracks together into one cohesive album in a song with a pretty chorus that I think easily justifies this song being her most popular from the album.
“Too Good to be True” is soft and gentle, but the added snare drum partway into the song clashes with the tone, and it’s hard to block it out. And the lyrics don’t paint any new story. Musgraves sings, “If this is what dreams are made of/please don’t wake me.” While a poetic idea, it is heavily overused. So, overall, while this is her second most popular track on Spotify, it was one of my least favorite tracks on the album. Nonetheless, this is only one track on the 14-track album, the rest of which I find “Too Good to be True.”
“Moving Out,” on the other hand, seemed to blend well together. The lyrics formed a story I could visualize, which I was really happy about. I love songs that form stories, and as a senior graduating and “Moving Out” soon myself, this song hits home.
“Dinner with Friends” is a sweet, sad song that also crescendos into a bit of a haunting tone. The added piano accompaniment makes it so beautiful, and as a piano ballad lover, this song easily earned its spot as my favorite from the album. The layered vocals make the song sound so magical; the variety keeps me listening on and on for the new change in tone. I love how the song lists a variety of things dear to the singer without specifying why they are mentioned until the song then ends with the line “the things I would miss from the other side.”
“Jade Green” has unconventional percussive noises in the beginning that sound almost as if someone is making them by hitting odd sorts of wooden household together in a distant room. The strings create an uplifting tone that makes the chorus all the more mystifying with the blend of folk and the rising mood.
“Lonely Millionaire” mixes a chill and haunting tone, creating a sound I would imagine from a folk-styled Lana Del Rey tune, especially with the “la-la-la’s,” creating a more carefree mood that contrasts the serious message of having wealth without love.
“Heaven Is” has a large focus on vocals with minimal instrumentation. It focuses on uplifting Musgraves’ changing notes, highlighting her expressive vocal range. This song has a hint of ethereality and is simply beautiful.
“Anime Eyes” is very different from the other tracks on the album. The change of pacing in the chorus creates a catchy rhythm, and the more digitally generated sounds and synths add to the different tunes, which offer a nice variety.
All in all, the soft-toned album with beautiful vocals and a couple of stand-out songs turned out better than I could have expected. I am definitely going to have Deeper Well on repeat.
