American Middle Class (album)

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

American Middle Class
Studio album by
Angaleena Presley
ReleasedOctober 14, 2014 (2014-10-14)
GenreCountry, Americana
Length46:48
LabelSlate Creek Records
ProducerJordan Powell
Angaleena Presley
Angaleena Presley chronology
American Middle Class
(2014)		 Wrangled
(2017)

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Billboard[3]
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)A[4]
The Daily Telegraph[5]
Exclaim!9/10[6]
The Observer[7]
PopMatters8/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Tampa Bay TimesA[10]
Uncut8/10[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
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ain't No Man"Angaleena Presley3:44
2."All I Ever Wanted"Presley5:27
3."Grocery Store"Presley, Lori McKenna3:42
4."American Middle Class"Presley3:47
5."Dry County Blues"Presley, Mark D. Sanders4:01
6."Pain Pills"Presley2:58
7."Life of the Party"Presley, Matraca Berg5:24
8."Knocked Up"Presley, Sanders3:54
9."Better Off Red"Presley3:38
10."Drunk"Presley, Sarah Siskind2:57
11."Blessing and a Curse"Presley, Bob DiPiero3:37
12."Surrender"Presley, Luke Laird, Barry Dean3:39

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[13]

Chart performance
Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[14] 29
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[15] 14

References
  1. "Reviews for American Middle Class by Angaleena Presley". Metacritic. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "American Middle Class – Angaleena Presley". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  3. 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. Christgau, Robert (November 28, 2014). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  5. Chilton, Martin (January 20, 2015). "Angaleena Presley, American Middle Class, album review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  6. Henderson, Stuart (October 14, 2014). "Angaleena Presley: American Middle Class". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  7. Spencer, Neil (January 11, 2015). "Angaleena Presley: American Middle Class review – exceptional vocal and lyrical touch". The Observer. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  8. Easton, Anthony (November 21, 2014). "Angaleena Presley: American Middle Class". PopMatters. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  9. 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. 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. "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.
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