Kacey Musgraves’ 2024 ‘Deeper Well’ Album: Introspection, Finger-Picking and Mixed Reactions

Seven-time Grammy-winning vocalist and “cosmic cowgirl” Kacey Musgraves’ 2024 album, entitled “Deeper Well” was released March 15, showcasing acoustics and vocals with 14 new songs. 

Musgraves promoted pre-sale tickets via Instagram for the “Deeper Well” tour with special guests: Lord Huron, Father John Misty, Nickel Creek, and Madi Diaz. The tour kicks off April 28 in Dublin.

Fans on Instagram are frustrated with the “World Tour” title. Musgraves will not visit Australia, and the only Midwestern cities on the tour are Rosemont, Illinois, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio, listed on the tour poster.  

“NOT A WORLD TOUR IF AUSTRALIA ISN’T INCLUDED,” user @itsngxbaby commented. 

“Now why would you skip Atlanta like that,” user @lexieeewilly posted on Musgrave’s public Instagram account.

“Rip the Midwest,” user @matthewfriedman commented with a crying emoji. 

In response to the comments, Musgraves continued to post about her album and promoted a bonus track entitled “Ruthless.” 

“Grateful to be alive and continuously inspired by life’s little mysteries and pleasures,” Musgraves announced on her Instagram March 15. “Massive thanks to my team and trusted collaborators.” 

Most of the album was conceived and recorded at the historic Electric Lady Studio in Greenwich Village. It’s the oldest working and thriving recording studio in New York City, according to Electric Lady Studio lore. 

“I was very drawn to getting out of Nashville and creating somewhere with a different energy, a different kind of life,” Musgraves told Willie Geist on Sunday’s TODAY show. 

The album is an observation on life, human emotion and removing resistance to growth, Musgraves said. 

The studio’s most recent projects on its website include Taylor Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” SZA’s “SOS” and Lana Del Rey’s “Did you know that there is a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.” along with exclusive EP performances at the venue released by Spotify. 

Jimi Hendrix put the Electric Lady Studio on the map. Hendrix bought the building, which was previously a nightclub, according to the Electric Lady Studios’ website. 

“He dreamed of amassing musicians from all over the world in Woodstock and they would sit in a field in a circle and play and play,” Patti Smith said in her memoir Just Kids.. “Eventually they would record this abstract universal language of music in his new studio.” 

“Deeper Well” could be described as a matured, tranquil “Golden Hour” with finger-picking reminiscent of a 70s songstress channeling Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks, as Musgraves enters her mid-30s. 

In almost 43 minutes, Musgraves’ “Deeper Well” explores tentatively finding love again, overcoming the fear of emotional intimacy gone wrong, regret, death and drug use. Musgraves contemplates life’s simple moments including: sharing a meal in a “Dinner With Friends,” making breakfast and love in “Too Good To Be True,” adorning herself with a bracelet of “Jade Green” and existential reminders of nature’s beauty and navigating spirituality with the track entitled “The Architect.” 

“I find it really ironic that I was able to tap into a more rootsy, folky, softer side in the middle of New York City,” Texas-native Musgraves told The Cut.

Although Musgraves’ genre is debated: country or atmospheric 70s or even folk-pop; reactions to her newest album are just as varied from Gen-Z. 

“I wouldn’t say I like country music,” 20-year-old college student Marlee Simpson said, “I like the old-fashioned kind, the Johnny Cash, good cowboy country, but Kacey to me sounds pop country.” 

Her previous album “Star-Crossed Lovers” released in 2021 alludes to her divorce from singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly and charted #1 on Billboard’s Top Album sales chart, according to Sunday Today’s interview with Musgraves. Spotify bio lists her accolades: Musgrave’s 2018 album “Golden Hour” earned her third #1 debut on Billboard’s Top Country Album chart with upbeat dance-speed songs. She’s the third artist ever to earn Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, Country Music Association Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards.

Vivian Oberg, 16, enjoys country music and listens with her family often, but had never heard of Musgraves until this album. 

“Kacey’s music has a way of making you feel at home because of how soothing her voice is,” Oberg said. 

For anti-country listeners, putting Musgraves in the context of Noah Kahan creates a different reaction. Musgraves dueted with Kahn on his song “She Calls Me Back” on his album “Stick Season (Forever).”

“I played ‘Deeper Well’ in order and from the first song it felt repetitive which left a sour taste in my mouth,” 22-year-old Noah Kahan fan Samanatha Nelson said. “I gave up about four songs in.” 

“I love him, he’s just so peaceful to listen to while I’m driving and it’s beautiful out. It’s a boost of serotonin. I didn’t know Kacey dueted a song with him, not at all,” college freshman Izzy Pieper said. 

In 2023, Musgraves and Zach Bryan collaborated on a duet entitled “I Remember Everything.” It’s the first country music duet in 40 years, since Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ 1983 “Islands in the Stream,” to reach #1 on Hot100, according to Musgrave’s Spotify bio. 

“ ‘Heart of the Woods’ is kinda a bop,” 20-year-old Jenna Holler said. “She sounds like Taylor Swift to me, but the only song I listened to all the way through was ‘Deeper Well.’” 

Whether that’s coincidence or personal preference, “Deeper Well” charts on Spotify as the second-most listened song from the artist with “Too Good To Be True” ranking fifth. 

Too Good to Be True was written by Daniel Tashian, Anna Nalick, Ian Fitchuk, and Kacey Musgraves. “Breathe (2AM)” singer Nalick receives songwriter credit as the melody is similar to her 2005 hit, according to Billboard.  

“Deeper Well” was written and produced by Musgraves and her long-time collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk through Interscope Records/MCA Nashville, Big Yellow Dog Music, and Sony Music Publishing, according to Spotify.