Kacey Musgraves has built a reputation in Nashville as an alternative to the more conservative and traditional brand of country music, the country artist for those who don't like country music; she is unlike many of her peers in that she mentions drug use and homosexual love in much of her music, including her biggest hit "Follow Your Arrow."

For all her noticeable differences, though, Musgraves' calling card has always been her strong, down-to-earth and sharp-witted songwriting that made legends like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson famous. In fact, she has collaborated with Nelson many times.

This album is by far her most daring work yet.

Where Same Trailer Different Park, her major-label debut, found her disenchanted with relationships, counting down the day till she got out of the small town where she'd always been an outcast, and the followup was about all she did after she got out, Golden Hour finds a radical optimist who is as content as she's ever been with "letting the world turn," living her life and enjoying the "butterflies" that come with being a newlywed.

That optimism doesn't mean she's exempt from challenging emotions, however. "Happy/Sad" and "Rainbow" were both intensely relatable to me, having dealt with anxiety and depression, and the longing to see one's mother is universal.

This album is also her most forward-looking: in what must be a first for any country artist, Musgraves name-checks Bejing in the opening verse, and the vocoders and synthesizers on this record make it clear that she wants to appeal to those outside the country bubble. She accomplishes all this while retaining the unique voice that made her a star in the first place, and that is why this is my favorite album of the year so far.