R&B crooner Miguel’s hit “waves” got the remix treatment from several artists today, including country’s own Kacey Musgraves, for his EP Rogue Waves. Her version is crisp and mellow, with a smooth vocal that trades lines with Miguel in the verses, joining him for each chorus.
Though Musgraves’ distinct vocals are an interesting complement to the R&B artist’s, the collaboration ultimately feels misplaced. With lyrics like “I wanna ride that wave / Body built for the beach, do you got that ocean? / Body surf, don’t sleep, body surf on me,” the song is inherently sexual, in the slinky subtextual way standard to many in the genre. “I bet you turn up when I pipe down / I’ma get it till I wipe out … let it splash down on me / body surf, don’t sleep / until I hit the peak,” they sing to each other. It’s a stylistic non-sequitur for Musgraves, who records in a format where the most sexual moments fade to black when its subjects slip out of their blue jeans. While it’s an interesting collaboration, the execution feels more misguided and off-beat than convincing.