Kacey Musgraves ditches glitz and glam with her sophomore album, Pageant Material.
Kacey Musgraves is ditching the sash and adding some sass because she’s not Pageant Material.
Following her debut album Same Trailer, Different Park, Musgraves is returning with a new set of 13 songs — and a hidden bonus track featuring Willie Nelson — with messages of individuality, love and heartbreak.
Driven by meaningful lyrics and punchy one-liners, Pageant Material states the obvious at times but reminds listeners to not take themselves too seriously and to not get caught up in imperfections.
The album kicks off with “High Time” as Musgraves sings about ditching the glitz and glamor because “nobody needs a thousand-dollar suit to take out the trash.”
The mellow tune captures a stoner’s paradise of escaping the night and returning to lost roots, even if the feeling is faded in the morning. It’s an introduction to an album with a radiating message of embracing quirky qualities and not getting caught up with fancy suits and price tags.
Musgraves later confesses that she’ll always be a “Dime Store Cowgirl.” The song captures an old country, folk feeling with prominent banjo strumming that blends into the upbeat melodies. Regardless of where Musgraves goes — including the top of the country charts — she promises to still call her hometown home.
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Of course, an album can’t be complete without at least one cheesy yet sincere love song. This is where “Late to the Party” comes into play. The soft melody captures Musgraves’ wonder and lust as her voice rings out in satisfaction about being with the person she loves rather than at a rambunctious party Saturday night.
Musgraves couldn’t have chosen a better song to name the album after. “Pageant Material” is an anthem for the misfits who don’t quite fit the standards set by others. Although a tad cliché, the song reminds listeners that imperfections don’t matter because “who is to say I’m a 9.5 or a 4.0 if you don’t even know me?” Musgraves claims wearing a swimsuit on stage to be judged isn’t going to lead to world peace — a common wish of pageant contestants — or self-acceptance, so maybe embracing oneself is more important.
The album gets a bit edgier with “This Town,” a track with lyrics that cut like a knife. The song warns listeners about the dangers in a small town, such as lying, cheating and keeping secrets. Rather than a threat, it’s more about unification and the bond resulting from living in a small town.
“This Town” goes hand and hand with the later track “Family is Family.” The songs capture the essence of a small town and the lengths someone will go to protect the ones they love, even with all their faults.
With a sound similar to “Follow Your Arrow,” “Biscuits” takes a page out of a mother’s manners book. Musgraves’ current single off the album gives the advice to “mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy.” The play on words easily falls in line with the overall message of the album.
The album slows down for a bit with “Somebody to Love,” which tells the whole story through the title. It’s a song about searching for love, but nothing extraordinary. “Miserable” seems even more out of place. Rather than giving advice or praising individuality, Musgraves is calling someone out for only being happy when he or she is miserable. The paradox seems a tad judgmental when the rest of the album is telling the world to mind its biscuits.
“Die Fun” isn’t a stand out song either, but it champions the popular, modern adage “Y.O.L.O” (“you only live once”) with the suggestion to “love hard, live fast, die fun” because life does not come with do overs.
“Cup of Tea” gives a laundry list of mistakes and faults, but Musgraves preaches the same message of being original. Musgraves takes it a step further with a simple question: Why would anyone want to be a cookie-cutter mold of what everyone wants?
It seems as if the pageant closes the curtains with a roar of silence following a broken heart in “Fine,” but a hidden track soon reveals a strumming guitar and Willie Nelson’s voice. Together, they close the album posing an important life question to listeners: “Are you sure that this is where you want to be?”
Pageant Material hits a home run. It features songs about family and friends rather than bombarding listeners to with whiny pop hits about heartbreak, which seems to be increasingly common in the country genre. Musgraves might never be pageant material, but her songwriting and sass would definitely earn her a sash in the talent competition.
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