Since the crossover success of the Grammy-winning Golden Hour in 2018, Kacey Musgraves has been straddling the line between pop and country to mixed results. Her pop-leaning follow-up, 2021’s divorce record Star-Crossed, and the back-to-basics-ish Deeper Well in 2024 felt like a long plateau—both records had some solid songs and she kept her status as arena headliner but there was a spark missing. For her seventh album, Middle of Nowhere, she fully embraces her country roots, elevating her incisive songwriting and recapturing the magic that made Golden Hour such a sensation.
Written during a long period of singledom (see: the Latin-flavored, double entendre-laden “Dry Spell”) in which she split time between Nashville, the small town of Golden, Texas and Mexico, Musgraves leans into pedal steel, Tejano guitars and two-step. There’s even a touch of bluegrass courtesy of Billy Strings, one of several guest performers, who adds a signature guitar solo and vocals to “Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy,” which takes shots at the rise of city folks cosplaying country in recent years. “It’s Friday night on the East Side, country band at the bar,” she sings. “Same old shit every weekend, everybody’s looking the part/ I bet most of these boots have probably never seen any dirt.”
In a bit of clever sequencing, Musgraves settles her long-rumored beef with Miranda Lambert on the duet “Horses and Divorces,” which name checks Willie Nelson before Nelson appears on the very next song (“Uncertain, TX”): “We both love Willie, but I mean really what asshole doesn’t like Willie?” they ask. Ultimately, it’s Musgraves’ knack for blending country with modern pop in a way that feels authentically her, like on “Back on the Wagon,” “Loneliest Girl” and “Rhinestoned,” that makes Middle of Nowhere her best record in years.
