Kacey Musgraves’ newest single ‘Dry Spell’ is a catchy country confessional and our first glimpse into where Musgraves is headed next. This is the first single off of her upcoming sixth studio album Middle of Nowhere. Her last three albums covered so much ground, both personally and stylistically: 2018’s beautifully radiant and lovestruck Grammy-award winning Golden Hour, 2021’s Starcrossed divorce album her foray into pop, and 2024’s grounded and introspective Deeper Well.
So where is Musgraves now? ‘Dry Spell’ gives a sense stylistically that Musgraves is bringing it back home, back to the style of her first two albums Same Trailer Different Park and Pageant Material, which first put her on the scene as a possible future of country music. The singer’s voice is as crisp and clear as ever, her lyrics filled with humor and sung in a chill, matter-of-fact way that makes us feel like part of her inner circle.
The song is filled to the brim with naughty entendres— my personal favorite is “nobody but the chickens are getting laid”— as Musgraves confides “y’all, I’m going through a dry spell.” Perhaps lyrically not her strongest work, I’m still a little unconvinced by the line “lonely with a capital H, if you know what I mean”. Hlonely? Kacey, I don’t know if that’s close enough to horny to really work. Nevertheless, new music from Musgraves, who is evidently returning to her fun and refreshing roots, is exactly what the country scene needs.
“Kacey Musgraves – Palace Theatre St. Paul (46248441824)” by Andy Witchger is licensed under CC BY 2.0.