On May 1, Kacey Musgraves released her new album, “Middle of Nowhere.” Digging her boots back into traditional country style with a touch of Música Mexicana, Musgraves crafted a collection of 13 songs (not including, “All My Exes (Kacey’s Version) and “Caballero,” featured as surprise songs). During an interview with NPR News, Musgraves described a tiny sign, reading “Golden, TX: Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere,” located in the east Texas community where she grew up. That inspired the name of the album. This is not Musgraves’ first rodeo, though. In 2012, she introduced herself to the music scene with “Merry Go Round,” a song depicting the repetitive social cycle found within small towns.
Nashville didn’t quite know what to do with Musgraves initially; she sang songs critiquing what “country” normally praised. This is what made her stand out. People fell in love with the authenticity and wit of her lyrics, the bell-like tone of her voice and the traditional twang of her country backdrop. More than a decade later, people are still listening and just as in love with her music.
“She may have named the album ‘Middle Of Nowhere,’ but it’s situated somewhere,” said Jewly Hight of Nashville Public Radio. “She’s bringing to life a Texas landscape that’s geographically and musically close to Mexico. Many of her new songs are also about isolation, but she puts a shrewd twist on the country tradition of lamenting loneliness.”
Musgraves collaborated with Mexican superstar Carin Leon last year, performed a tribute to Tejano icon Selena accompanied by a mariachi band, and has been living in Mexico part time.
“I really want to go an extra mile to really show the Mexican culture, that I really deeply appreciate it, that I see it, that it matters and that it’s ultimately, in ways that I wasn’t even aware of, influenced me as a person, who I am and the music that I make today,” Musgraves shared during her NPR interview. That influence shines through in tracks such as “Mexico Honey,” “Horses and Divorces (ft. Miranda Lambert)” and “Uncertain, TX (ft. Willie Nelson),” on her new album. The songs blend northern Mexican rhythms through norteño-style (a traditional folk music genre originating in Northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest) accordions and captivating cowbells.
“Dry Spell,” “Middle of Nowhere” and “Horses and Divorces (ft. Miranda Lambert),” are the current favorites according to streaming numbers. All three songs encompass the overall messages of the album: don’t take yourself too seriously and there is freedom in imperfection. Nevertheless they invoke the urge to let loose and step out on the dance floor, which most would say is needed at this time. You could say this “need” inspired Musgraves when crafting the album as well. During her NPR interview, she described an experience at a Texas music hall and what it sparked in her.
“It was really nice to see so many different kinds of people having the best time and decked out in their Western wear. It was hot Latino couples. It was hot Black cowboys. And it was older white cowboys dancing with younger cowgirls. And everybody was having such a good time dancing with each other. And I was like, damn, America needs to two-step together; America needs to be out on the dance floor.” With this in mind, Musgraves created the soundtrack just for the occasion.
