The album was supported by the release of four singles: "Deeper Well, "Too Good to Be True", "Cardinal", and "The Architect". The lattermost won theGrammy Award for Best Country Song. To supportDeeper Well, Musgraves embarked on theDeeper Well World Tour from April2024 to December2024. An expanded edition of the album, subtitledDeeper into the Well, was released on August 2, 2024.
Commercially, the album became Musgraves's best project in terms of sales in its first week worldwide. In the United States, it debuted at number two on theBillboard 200, while debuting at number three in the United Kingdom on theOfficial Albums Chart, becoming the singer's highest entry on both charts.
Musgraves teased the project on February 4, 2024, during a66th Annual Grammy Awards commercial titled "My Saturn Has Returned".[3] The eponymous lead single was released with an accompanying music video alongside the album announcement days later on February 8.[4] Inspiration for the song came through change in feelings and sentiments that might be off-putting at first but equips one with "new insight and deeper love somewhere else".[5] It was followed by the second single, "Too Good to Be True", on February 29.[6] The music video of the song premiered later on March 15, the same day the album was officially released.[7] A digital deluxe edition of the album, containing the bonus track "Ruthless", was available during the album's release week.[8] On July 26, Musgraves released the single "Irish Goodbye" and announced an expanded version of the album, subtitledDeeper into the Well, which was released on August 2.[9][10] Its release was accompanied byfarmer's market pop-up shops in four cities in the US.[11] TheDeeper into the Well tracks were released independently on vinyl as part ofRecord Store Day Black Friday 2024, backed with 20 minutes of woodland sounds.[12]
On February 29, 2024, Musgraves announced she would perform shows in Europe and North America for theDeeper Well World Tour in support of the album. The tour commenced on April 28 inDublin, Ireland, and concluded on December 7, inNashville, Tennessee.[13] On March 2, Musgraves took the stage as musical guest onSaturday Night Live for the third time of her career and performed "Too Good to Be True" and "Deeper Well".[14]
AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78 based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21] The review aggregator site AnyDecentMusic? compiled 21 reviews and gaveDeeper Well an average of 7.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[20]
Tony Clayton-Lea ofThe Irish Times dubbedDeeper Well "another jewel in the crown" describing it as "politically aware" and "personally revealing".[32] Thomas Bedenbaugh ofSlant Magazine praised the concept of the album and considered the lyrics mostly live up to Musgraves's standards, even though some "fall flat".[29] Mary Siroky ofConsequence called the lyrics of the album "poetic" and saw the album as a "conversation with a friend" and a "great companion listen" to Musgraves's fourth studio album,Golden Hour, praising the "dreamy mood" of the album.[33]
In a review forPaste, Eric Bennett calledDeeper Well her "most sonically cohesive album to date" describing the album as "refreshing" and "rife" with "clear-eyed" songs.[27] Roisin O'Connor ofThe Independent also praised the cohesive sound of the album, calling the album a "revelation".[24]
Pitchfork's writer Laura Snapes described the album as "sympathetically fame-agnostic and focused on steadying Musgraves' axi" but the songs "aren't particularly satisfying when you know what she's capable of", comparing the project as "the latest addition to a canon of refusenik pop records from young women burned by the spotlight".[28] Sophie Williams ofNME praised the "assertiveness" of Musgraves on the "sparse compositions that run through this thoughtful, imperfect, down-to-earth record", described as "the excitement of a fresh start".[26]
Deeper Well debuted at number two on the USBillboard 200 chart with 97,000album-equivalent units, including 38.06 million on-demand streams and 66,000 album sales in its first week, behindAriana Grande'sEternal Sunshine (2024). It became Musgraves's fifth top-ten album on the chart and her biggest week ever by both equivalent album units and traditional album sales.[34] The album also debuted at number one on theTop Country Albums andAmericana/Folk Albums, respectively becoming Musgraves fifth and third project to achieve it.[35]
In the United Kingdom the album debuted at number three on theUK Albums Chart, becoming Musgraves's highest-charting album and her third consecutive top-ten project afterGolden Hour (2018) andStar-Crossed (2021).[36] It also debuted at number one on theUK Country Albums Chart, becoming her fifth consecutive album to reach the top spot on that chart.
All tracks are written by Kacey Musgraves,Daniel Tashian, andIan Fitchuk, with the exception of "Sway" and "Little Sister", which include songwriterTommy English, as well as "The Architect" and "Arm's Length", which were penned by Musgraves withShane McAnally andJosh Osborne.
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