Kacey Musgraves embraces Dry Spells, self-love and solitude on Middle of Nowhere

Starting a new era by telling your fans you’re horny is crazy, but if anyone is going to say it, it would be Kacey Musgraves. “Y’all, I’m going through a dry spell… yep” Musgraves admits with her signature mix of honesty and humour on recent single ‘Dry Spell’. My first thought is ‘Surely, there must be a straight version of Grindr she can download?!’ but listening to other tracks on the album, it becomes clear that isn’t exactly what she wants or even needs.  

Tracks like album title track ‘Middle of Nowhere’ and ‘Loneliest Girl’ touch on the joy of spending time alone, without worrying about how you’re being perceived, or even having to care about other people. Some of us may even be inspired to delete those God-awful dating apps and get to know oneself instead. No pressure, though. 

“This isn’t necessarily a breakup album”

Although there are songs that touch on breakups, this isn’t necessarily a breakup album. We’ve had that from Kacey already with 2021 album star-crossed. This is an album about reflection with a whole bunch of hindsight in mind. There’s something beautiful about taking that time to look inwards and seriously consider what you have to say and then say it. 

Middle of Nowhere sits rather uniquely in Musgraves’ discography. While it is a welcome return to her country roots, it still takes into consideration the more contemporary production choices that can be found on her more recent albums. Musgraves’ approach to country sits quite uniquely among her contemporaries. Which brings me swiftly onto a certain collab on the album…

“Everyone loves Willie”

 “Everyone loves Willie” Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert sing on duet ‘Horses and Divorces’. They are, of course, talking about country legend Willie Nelson (who then features on the next song). The collab between Musgraves and Lambert mends and repairs a once-frosty relationship between the two country divas. A real “let’s work it out on the remix” but make it cunt-ry.

Overall, fans need to stop expecting Golden Hour 2.0 (Musgraves’ Grammy-winning 2018 album), as you’re not going to get it. Nor should she feel like she needs to rehash old sounds and old feelings. She’s moved on and so should you. Middle of Nowhere is best enjoyed with an open mind and a once-broken-but-now-mended heart.  

This feature appears in the Attitude May/June 2026 issue, available in print and on digital platforms including Apple News+ and the Attitude app.