American Middle Class (album)

2014 studio album by Angaleena Presley

American Middle Class

Studio album by

Angaleena Presley

Released| October 14, 2014 (2014-10-14)
Studio|

* Ronnie's Place Studio, Blackbird Studio, Quad Studios and Pioneertown Studios (Nashville, Tennessee)

Genre| Country, Americana
Length| 46:48
Label| Slate Creek Records
Producer| Jordan Powell
Angaleena Presley
Angaleena Presley chronology
|  | American Middle Class
(2014)  | Wrangled
(2017)

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|

American Middle Class is the debut solo album by Angaleena Presley, released on October 14, 2014, through Slate Creek Records.

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 84/100[1]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
Billboard| [3]
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)| A[4]
The Daily Telegraph| [5]
Exclaim!| 9/10[6]
The Observer| [7]
PopMatters| 8/10[8]
Rolling Stone| [9]
Tampa Bay Times| A[10]
Uncut| 8/10[11]

American Middle Class received highly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 84 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim" based on nine reviews.[1]

In a four out of five star review Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that the album "will linger for some time to come."[2] In the three and a half out of five star review from Rolling Stone's Jonathan Bernstein, he remarks how it is an "impressive solo debut".[9] There was a four star rating granted to the album from Neil Spencer of The Observer, where he revealed he felt "Presley's vocal and lyrical touch are exceptional on an impressive state-of-the-nation album."[7] At The Daily Telegraph, Martin Chilton believes "the musicianship is top notch."[5] The four star review delivered from Billboard's Elias Leight is for "a focused collection of songs."[3] The Uncut magazine rated the album an eight out of ten because "Presley has a wry, modern take on country music."[11] In Cuepoint, Robert Christgau called it a "moderately astonishing bunch of songs" on which "she sings pretty as you please."[4] The eight out of ten rating bestowed on the release from Anthony Easton at PopMatters is in response to "the corruption and failure of the market rotting from the bottom and squeezing from the top, is profoundly realized here."[8] Stuart Henderson rates the album a nine out of ten for Exclaim! because "this debut is about as accomplished as one could reasonably expect."[6] The Tampa Bay Times grants the release an A, and Sean Daly sees how "she has a persistent knack for showmanship, small scenes but grand gestures."[10] Nate Chinen of The New York Times declares "American Middle Class, (Presley's) debut album, comes fully formed, clear about its purpose."[12]

The album was nominated for "International Album of the Year" by the UK Americana Music Association.

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

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|
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1.| "Ain't No Man"| Angaleena Presley| 3:44
2.| "All I Ever Wanted"| Presley| 5:27
3.| "Grocery Store"| Presley, Lori McKenna| 3:42
4.| "American Middle Class"| Presley| 3:47
5.| "Dry County Blues"| Presley, Mark D. Sanders| 4:01
6.| "Pain Pills"| Presley| 2:58
7.| "Life of the Party"| Presley, Matraca Berg| 5:24
8.| "Knocked Up"| Presley, Sanders| 3:54
9.| "Better Off Red"| Presley| 3:38
10.| "Drunk"| Presley, Sarah Siskind| 2:57
11.| "Blessing and a Curse"| Presley, Bob DiPiero| 3:37
12.| "Surrender"| Presley, Luke Laird, Barry Dean| 3:39

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[13]

Musicians

* Angaleena Presley – vocals
* John Henry Trinko – keyboards, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B3 organ
* Audley Freed – electric guitars, electric 12-string guitar, dobro, mandolin
* Keith Gattis – acoustic guitars, electric guitars, banjo, bouzouki, dobro, mandolin, harmony vocals (8)
* Josh Grange – steel guitar
* Aden Bubeck – bass guitar, upright bass
* Glenn Worf – bass guitar, upright bass
* Fred Eltringham – drums, castanets, shaker, assorted percussions
* David Henry – cello, violin

* Kelly Archer – harmony vocals (1, 12)
* Gayle Mayes – harmony vocals (2, 11)
* Angela Primm – harmony vocals (2, 11)
* Emily Saliers – harmony vocals (3)
* Patty Loveless – harmony vocals (4)
* Chris Stapleton – harmony vocals (6)
* Sarah Siskind – harmony vocals (10)

Production

* Jordan Powell – producer
* Angaleena Presley – producer
* Charlie Brocco – engineer, mixing
* Taylor Pollert – additional recording
* Kam Luchterhand – assistant engineer, mix assistant
* Brad Henderson – art direction
* Sarah Barlow – photography
* Stephen Schofield – photography
* Tiffany Gifford – stylist
* Lindsay Doyle – hair, make-up

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## Chart performance

[edit]

Chart (2014)  | Peak
position

|

US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] | 29
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[15] | 14

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Reviews for American Middle Class by Angaleena Presley". Metacritic. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
2. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "American Middle Class – Angaleena Presley". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
3. ^ a b Leight, Elias (October 14, 2014). "Album Review: Pistol Annies' Angaleena Presley's 'American Middle Class' a Strong, Focused Debut". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
4. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (November 28, 2014). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
5. ^ a b Chilton, Martin (January 20, 2015). "Angaleena Presley, American Middle Class, album review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
6. ^ a b Henderson, Stuart (October 14, 2014). "Angaleena Presley: American Middle Class". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
7. ^ a b Spencer, Neil (January 11, 2015). "Angaleena Presley: American Middle Class review – exceptional vocal and lyrical touch". The Observer. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
8. ^ a b Easton, Anthony (November 21, 2014). "Angaleena Presley: American Middle Class". PopMatters. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
9. ^ a b Bernstein, Jonathan (October 21, 2014). "American Middle Class". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
10. ^ a b Daly, Sean (October 15, 2014). "Miranda Lambert pal Angaleena Presley releases great, gritty country debut". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
11. ^ a b "Angaleena Presley: American Middle Class". Uncut (214): 81. March 2015.
12. ^ The New York Times (October 14, 2014). "Albums by Mary Lambert, Nico Vinz and Angaleena Presley". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
13. ^ "American Middle Class - Angaleena Presley - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
14. ^ "Angaleena Presley Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
15. ^ "Angaleena Presley Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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*[No.]: Number