Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The jovial attitude that springs from the voice of Kacey Musgraves as her new album, Same Trailer Different Park, plays hides an acerbic wit and cutting disdainful melancholy which makes her a refreshing change in the world of American country music. There have been others who have this same outlook but they usually have been tarnished and jaded by a life time of regret and disappointment of the world they live in.

Ms. Musgraves could be considered young to be so cynical, the wide eyed optimism should not have been brow beaten out of her yet, even for Country standards. However it is to her credit that the humour in her voice captivates the listener as it makes her words that more sincere and fascinating. The album itself strings along in the time honoured Country fashion; if not for Ms. Musgraves diverse take on the subjects she tackles it could almost be a cliché, a nice one, there is nothing wrong with the genre after all and it has served its purpose with immense distinction but it takes someone with Ms Musgraves sense of injustice, the enormity of problems facing ordinary Americans today to get that message across. The country smile toting a big stick.

There are some very cool and well written tracks on the album which will make the listener stop and think, the likes of Merry Go Round, Dandelion and Keep it to Yourself all give notice that this is a woman who deeply cares about her subject matter and isn’t scared to say so. Whether you agree with her not is a different matter, at least she is treading the well worn out path paved by many in the past.

Aside from the brief dalliances, such as Dolly Parton, June Carter, Kevin Chesney or any of the bigger names that may have rarely infiltrated the U.K. conscious, American country has never really hit it off in the same way this side of the Atlantic. Whether the supposed cliché is too much for British tastes is unknown but in musicians and lyricists such as Kacey Musgraves, Kellie Picker or even Miranda Lambert there is something tangible to take hold of. Perhaps it needs this young blood, primarily female; to get the idea across that Country is o.k. to enjoy and raise a glass to.

Ian D. Hall