Kacey Musgraves has a 16-track companion album, Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes, due Jan. 15, with two songs out now, Pitchfork reports.
Kacey Musgraves is releasing a second album from the same sessions, and it leans hard into her Texas roots. According to Pitchfork, Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes is a 16-track companion to this year's Middle of Nowhere, arriving Jan. 15 on Lost Highway with very little warning.
What's on Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes
Pitchfork says the tracklist is 11 new songs and five covers, including a Spanish-language version of "Uncertain, TX" from the original record. Stereogum describes the set slightly differently, as 16 tracks exploring the link between Texas and Mexico, with four sung in Spanish. The two outlets agree on the shape of it: this is a deliberate swerve into regional Mexican and Tex-Mex sounds, not a pile of leftovers.
The new "Uncertain, TX" features the regional Mexican band Intocable, taking the spot held on the original by Willie Nelson, as Stereogum notes. Mariachi Oro de América appear on a live recording from Mexico City, "Tú Solo Tú." Other titles include "Pretty Horses," "Caballero," "Rodeo," "Desert Eyes" and "(Hey Baby) Qué Pasó?"
The two songs out now
Musgraves has shared "Weekend in Texas" and "Mi Tesoro." The first, per Stereogum, pairs her pop-country writing with organ stabs and mariachi horns, and plays on the Texas versus Tennessee rivalry that also runs through "Choosin' Texas," described there as this year's biggest hit and co-written by Miranda Lambert. "Mi Tesoro" is a norteño standard sung in Spanish. Stereogum's writer admits to not being a native speaker but says she holds her own.
That fits a thread Stereogum traces back to the first album, which it calls excellent. On Middle of Nowhere she dipped into norteño on the Nelson duet and played shows with teenage mariachi musicians. A full companion album is the logical next step, though a surprise one.
Where the tour stands
Middle of Nowhere came out in May and was led by "Dry Spell" and the title track, with a video for "Mexico Honey" following. Pitchfork reports that Musgraves is finishing her North American tour for the album, with two shows at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Oct. 26 and 27.
The official Kacey Musgraves store already lists vinyl, CD and digital editions of the new album, including signed versions.
Our read: releasing a second volume only months after the first is a confident move. Covers plus Spanish-language cuts could make it a more adventurous record than a typical "deluxe" add-on. We'll know more once there's more than two songs to judge, and a January date leaves plenty of time for that.
Picture credit: Cover art: Kacey Musgraves / Lost Highway. Design: Savvy VibeZ
