Kacey Musgraves is back with a new music video for “justified,” which is set to be featured on the upcoming studio album star-crossed, out September 10 via Interscope and UMG Nashville. This new music video was directed by Bardia Zeinali and shot by cinematographer Matthew Libatique, who also worked on a 50-minute film based on the album. Star-crossed the film features appearances by Eugene Levy, Victoria Pedretti, Symone, Princess Nokia and Megan Stalter.

“Justified” is essentially a clip from star-crossed, and shows Musgraves driving a car through desert, forest and urban areas. While Musgraves’ country influences are present throughout her vocals, the song’s instrumental takes a more pop approach, with sweet keyboard chords. and an upbeat bassline driving the track.

Musgraves‘ upcoming star-crossed is an ambitious concept album that utilizes a three-act structure and influences from Shakespearean tragedies. Its title is a reference to this iconic line from Romeo and Juliet‘s prologue “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.” The artist also jokingly compared the writing sessions for the album to Shakespeare’s creation of King Lear, which was written in quarantine from the bubonic plague.

“At the time, I didn’t quite understand it. It’s still pretty heady, the ‘old English’ and all that. But it’s themes that we’re still familiar with today. They’re just wrapped up in a different way. Those things will carry on forever, as long as humans are living, breathing, crying, loving, dying, fighting, all of that,” Musgraves explained in an interview with Elle. “Being a human is tragic, but it’s also beautiful. And you can’t really experience the beautiful parts of life without also experiencing the absolutely heart-wrenching.”

Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz