We Say: Kacey Musgraves' follow-up to 2013's Same Trailer Different Park is more calculated and confident, intent on both courting and bending the mainstream with wit and timeless arrangements. It misses some of Trailer's storytelling wistfulness and formal experiments – but track for track, it's stronger, an object lesson in Nashville songwriting. Songs like the title track allude to Musgraves' whiplash fame, but she dodges any second-album slump with weed jokes and homegirl charm.
But everywhere else, this is an even better album than her last, with more consistency and variety. And Musgraves still excels at chiding Southern tradition.
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It's easy enough to love Pageant Material if you don't agree with Musgraves' views on social issues, but let's be honest: it helps if you do.