Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. All my Songs of the Week are featured on my Top of the Poptastic playlist, along with the rest of my faves from the year so far.
It feels like 2018 is going to be the year that country artists with mainstream appeal finally get the broader recognition they deserve. Maren Morris is at last enjoying a crossover hit with poptastic Zedd collaboration The Middle, and I’m hopeful that her second album will be her Come On Over moment. I don’t see Kacey Musgraves becoming a pop star in the same way, but I am optimistic that her new album will be appropriately treated as the work of one of this era’s most talented singer-songwriters – not just in country, but in music as a whole. Her witty, woke lyrics and accessible sound are the best evidence that, while bro country might still rule in Nashville, the country genre is simultaneously creating some of its best ever work. New single High Horse is a great entry point for Kacey newbies. Its sassy lyrics give the song an immediate charm, but its melody and electro-infused production make it a solid, subtle grower. Its sound has even been compared to the Bee Gees. Kacey’s new album Golden Hour is released this Friday, and I’m hopeful for a) a UK top 10 position and b) at least one more song as poptastic as this.