| American Middle Class | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 14, 2014 | |||
| Genre | Country, Americana | |||
| Length | 46:48 | |||
| Label | Slate Creek Records | |||
| Producer | Jordan Powell Angaleena Presley | |||
| Angaleena Presley chronology | ||||
| ||||
American Middle Class is the debut solo album by Angaleena Presley, released on October 14, 2014, through Slate Creek Records.
| Aggregate 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.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Credits adapted from AllMusic. [13]
Musicians
|
| Technical personnel
|
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [14] | 29 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [15] | 14 |
Women and Children First is the third studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 26, 1980, on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ted Templeman and engineered by Donn Landee, it was the first Van Halen album not to feature any cover songs, and is described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "[the] record where the group started to get heavier, both sonically and, to a lesser extent, thematically."
Elvis: 30 #1 Hits is a greatest hits collection of songs by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Records on September 24, 2002. It is the first Elvis Presley album to feature the remix of "A Little Less Conversation" by JXL that was released earlier in the year and reached No. 1 in the UK, Australia and went on to become a number-one hit in over 20 countries.
Wrangled is the second solo studio album by outlaw country singer and country music trio Pistol Annies member Angaleena Presley. It was released via Thirty Tigers Records on April 21, 2017.
Hell on Heels is the first studio album by American country girl group Pistol Annies. The group consists of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley. They released their single, "Hell on Heels," in May 2011 and released their debut album on August 23, 2011. Pistol Annies debuted at Number 1 on Billboard’s Country Album Chart with their introductory album, Hell On Heels. With more than 44,000 albums sold in the first week, with little to no promotion, the group landed at Number 5 on the Billboard 200 Chart. As of June 5, 2013, the album has sold 488,000 copies in the United States.
Angaleena Loletta McCoy Presley is an American country music singer-songwriter. She is a member of the country trio Pistol Annies, which was formed in 2011 with Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe, and has released two solo albums, American Middle Class (2014) and Wrangled (2017).
Annie Up is the second studio album by American country girl group Pistol Annies, but this is the first album with RCA Nashville. The group consists of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. Annie Up started with 83,000 albums sold in the first week.
Last Night on Earth is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock musician Lee Ranaldo, released on October 7, 2013 on Matador Records. Recorded over a nine-month period at Echo Canyon West in Hoboken, New Jersey, the album features Ranaldo's backing band The Dust which comprises former Sonic Youth bandmate Steve Shelley, guitarist Alan Licht and bassist Tim Lüntzel. In addition to studio recordings, Last Night on Earth incorporates field recordings of Ranaldo in Berlin, Germany and Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy.
Southsiders is the seventh studio album by American hip hop duo Atmosphere. The album was released via Rhymesayers Entertainment on May 6, 2014. The title Southsiders refers to the south side of Minneapolis.
Platinum is the fifth studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Miranda Lambert. It was released on June 3, 2014, by RCA Nashville.
Slate Creek Records is an American independent record label based in Frisco, Texas founded in 2012 by Jim Burnett. The label's president is longtime Nashville producer Garth Fundis, who has worked with many artists including Don Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Keith Whitley and Sugarland. The first release on the label was "Pride" by Neal McCoy. Pride: A Tribute to Charley Pride was a tribute album to artist Charley Pride which featured guest performances by Darius Rucker and Trace Adkins.
The Voyager is the second solo album and third overall by American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis. The album was released on July 29, 2014, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was primarily produced by Ryan Adams at his studio, PAX AM.
Montevallo is the debut studio album by American country music singer Sam Hunt. It was released on October 27, 2014, by MCA Nashville. Hunt co-wrote all 10 tracks on the album. The album was produced by Zach Crowell and Shane McAnally. "Cop Car" was previously recorded by Keith Urban on his eighth studio album Fuse, who released it as a single in January 2014.
Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is the thirty-eighth and final studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin and was released on October 17, 2014. It features ten covers of songs made famous by female recording artists.
Rips is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Ex Hex. It was released on October 7, 2014 by Merge Records.
No Cities to Love is the eighth studio album by American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released on January 20, 2015, through Sub Pop. It is the first album following a decade-long hiatus and the band's 2005 release, The Woods. The album received universal acclaim from music critics and was listed on several "Best Albums of 2015" lists.
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit is the debut studio album by Australian indie rock musician Courtney Barnett, released on 20 March 2015. The album received wide acclaim and was ranked as one of the best albums of 2015 by numerous publications.
Eat Pray Thug is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist Heems. It was released on Megaforce Records on March 10, 2015. Music videos were created for "Sometimes", "Damn, Girl", and "Pop Song (Games)".
Phillip Jordan Powell is a Nashville-based music manager and record producer.
Sparrow is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Ashley Monroe, released on April 20, 2018, through Warner Bros. Nashville. The album is produced by Dave Cobb and recorded in the iconic RCA Studio A.
Interstate Gospel is the third studio album by American country supergroup Pistol Annies, and their second with RCA Nashville. It was released on November 2, 2018. It is their first album since 2013's Annie Up. It was nominated for Best Country Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards. It is their very first Grammy nomination. In 2019, Rolling Stone named Interstate Gospel as one of their top ten albums of the decade, ranking it at 9.
