When I say my taste in music varies. I mean it. The inaugural album of the week for my blog is Middle of Nowhere by Kacey Musgraves. I was never a big country fan, but I think that is because I didn’t realize how many subgenres of country exist, or how many different demographics country can target. I first discovered Kacey Musgraves in 2021 when I heard her song Rainbow. I had just lost someone so important to me, and this song was exactly what I needed to hear. This song is beautifully written and sung, and it carries a message of holding on to hope in dark times. That was the first time I went out of my way to listen to country music.
Middle of Nowhere, released May 1st, 2026, is Musgraves’s seventh studio album. This album has strong country roots and draws heavily on Mexican music. It tells a story of solitude, especially solitude after experiencing post-breakup clarity. The album opens with the title track, where Kacey says she wants to be in the middle of nowhere. She wants to be where she can’t be reached. The middle of nowhere is where “there’s no reckless men who don’t know what they want.” The middle of nowhere is just her, and that’s all she needs. This song is a great introduction to the album and sets the tone. It’s also a great reminder that all you need is yourself.
Kacey goes into detail throughout the album about the relationships that led to the story told in this album. The next song that truly captures the heartbreak she’s experienced is track 4, “I Believe in Ghosts.” In this song, the listener is reminded that relationships can end quickly, even when you think the relationship you’re in is THE relationship. You picture yourself and your future with this partner, and in the blink of an eye, they’re gone. The lyrics “You left your sweater, but I needed a shoulder/ How do you sleep at night?” can be interpreted as being in your time of need; you still wish for this person because it’s what you’re familiar with. All you’re left with are the physical belongings they left behind, and you can’t return them because they’re out of your life.
Another favorite from the album is track 7, Loneliest Girl. It’s a beautiful song about learning how to be alone again. Being “the loneliest girl in the world” isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually a great thing! Kacey Musgraves describes how freeing it is to be the loneliest girl. She np longer has to deal with someone she doesn’t have feelings for and hasn’t had feelings for for a long time. She does say that, of course, at some point she did have feelings for this person and she was heartbroken, but she no longer feels like she needs to do anything or worry about pleasing them. The only person she needs to please is herself, which can feel liberating.
The final song on the album, and the most gut-wrenching (in my opinion), is track 13, Hell On Me. The other songs have happier beats, so although they’re sad, this one feels more raw. This is the best way to close out the album. This acoustic, melancholic song is about losing yourself while trying to make a relationship work, even though it’s failing. The opening line is “Tried to make you someone you couldn’t be,” followed by “tryin’ to change you changed me.” This relationship wasn’t working, and Kacey describes the pain and horrors of what it’s like to go through a failing relationship and try to make it work. As the closing song, this track feels like Kacey accepting the end of the relationship and closing out the album.
I encourage you to listen to the album, or the highlighted tracks, and let me know what you think! I would also love to hear recommendations for new country music!
Tracklist:
1. Middle of Nowhere
2. Dry Spell
3. Back On The Wagon
4. I Believe In Ghosts
5. Abilene
6. Coyote feat. Gregory Alan Isakov
7. Loneliest Girl
8. Everybody Wants To Be A Cowboy feat. Billy Strings
9. Horses and Divorces feat. Miranda Lambert
10. Uncertain, TX feat. Willie Nelson
11. Rhinestoned
12. Mexico Honey
13. Hell On Me
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