New Music Reviews: Kacey Musgraves and The Reds, Pinks & Purples

It’s a low-key week – Kacey Musgraves returns to traditional-sounding Americana on Middle of Nowhere, while Glenn Donaldson is back with another gorgeous record of jangle-pop.

Kacey Musgraves

Middle of Nowhere

2026, 7/10
Kacey Musgraves made her name with traditional-sounding country records that contrasted with her progressive values and edgy humour. She successfully switched gears with the psychedelic, lovestruck Golden Hours. But she’s since failed to find an effective sound, so it’s not surprising that Middle of Nowhere returns to the sound of her first two records.

Someone had put up this sign in the middle of the town which literally said, ‘Golden, Texas: Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere.’ It made me laugh, and I was just like, OK, that’s obviously meant to be a little bit self-deprecating, but there was this quiet confidence about it that I really liked.
Kacey Musgraves, Variety

Musgraves wrote Middle of Nowhere after a prolonged period of singleness, and it’s clearly reflected in the lyrics. As well as the isolation of the title and ‘Uncertain, TX’ (featuring Willie Nelson), her singleness is front and centre, like on the lead single ‘Dry Spell’. Musgraves sings of sitting on the washing machine.

She’s surrounded by a great team – producer and cowriter Daniel Tashian is back from Golden Hour. She’s also assisted by Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, who recently appeared on the New York Times 30 best living American songwriters list. But for all the help, it often ends up a little underwhelming. Musgraves is better at sardonic humour than lovelorn openness, even though songs like ‘Hell On Me’ and ‘Ghosts’ are lovely.

Middle of Nowhere is a valiant effort, but it ends up good, not great.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples

Acknowledge Kindness

2022, 8/10
Glenn Donaldson is a veteran musician who came through the 1980s California punk scene. He’s worked through a plethora of musical projects – PopMatters describes “the lo-fi folk of the Jewelled Antler collective, the breezy psychedelia of the Skygreen Leopards, the tuneful post-punk of the Art Museums”. Now in his fifties, Donaldson is achieving the highest sales of his career with The Reds, Pinks & Purples.

He taps into the jangly indie sounds of the 1980s, recalling bands like The Smiths, The Chills, and The Go-Betweens.

16 Lover’s Lane is a top five-record for me. I want to make something that good someday. I saw them in their reunion era twice, and I soaked up every second.
Glenn Donaldson, Freq (on the Go-Betweens)

Donaldson captures the wounded, jangly eloquence of the Go-Betweens on songs like ‘Houses’. ‘Is It You or Is It Them?’ begins with a surprisingly abrasive guitar tone before settling into a pretty synth-backed jangle. He’s always tuneful, and the instrumental ‘Blue Heron Lake’ is gorgeous. His piano on ‘Worthy of Love’ is beautiful.