“Cardinal” by Kacey Musgraves

"Cardinal" arrived on March 15, 2024, tucked into Deeper Well, Kacey Musgraves' sixth studio album, and went on to become one of the four singles pulled from that record. She wrote and produced it with Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian, and her two collaborators handle most of the playing themselves: Fitchuk on acoustic guitar, bass, drums and percussion, Tashian on 12-string guitar, claves, synthesizer and backing vocals. Todd Lombardo adds a second acoustic guitar and Viktor Krauss a second bass.

It's a small, homespun-sounding song, the claves ticking along under the guitars like a kitchen clock, and Musgraves sings it clear-eyed and unhurried. Craig Alvin and Konrad Snyder recorded it, and Snyder's mix leaves plenty of air around every part.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.