Angel Face is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez,released on September 22,2023,[1] through Mercury and Republic Records. The album was preceded by three singles:"Evangeline","Only Girl" and "Be More".[2] The album also includes Sanchez's 2021 single,"Until I Found You". A deluxe version of the album was released on April 26,2024,including five new songs.
Angel Face was produced by Konrad Snyder and Ian Fitchuk.[3] The album follows a "loose concept" of a fictional version of Sanchez named "The Troubadour Sanchez" rising to fame in 1958 after performing his song "Until I Found You" before he falls in love with a woman named Evangeline,who is the girlfriend of a mob boss named Hunter,[4] and is killed.[5][6] The album was released on September 22,2023,via Mercury and Republic Records.
Sanchez cites heavy influence from music from the 1950s and 1960s as inspiration for the album,as well as gospel music. He said of the album:"The songs fell out naturally. We started writing the record back in December,so we got to spend a lot of time with these songs,rip them apart,and put them back together again. But,I think the story came very quickly and naturally."[1]
A deluxe version of the album titled Angel Face (Club Deluxe) was released on April 26,2024,produced as well by Snyder and Fitchuk,and contains five new tracks. One of the new tracks,"Howling at Wolves",was inspired by Lord Huron,whose founder and lead vocalist,Ben Schneider,contributed to the production of the albums,as well as writing on various tracks. Sanchez said the bonus tracks were "lost in the ether and some of them were played during the tour without a release date in sight."[7]
Tour
Following the release of Angel Face,starting in October 2023,Sanchez went on the Live In Person tour performing the songs on the album. The tour was divided into three legs;North America,Europe,and Australia. Alongside performing songs from the album,Sanchez also performed covers of "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison,"Unchained Melody" by Alex North and Hy Zaret,"This Boy" by the Beatles and "Colors" by Black Pumas. The tour concluded in May 2024,following the release of Angel Face (Club Deluxe).
Then starting in August 2024,Sanchez went on The Connie Co Show Tour across North America,in which Sanchez and his band,the Moon Crests,are making their television debut on the fictional talk showThe Connie Co Show. Sanchez performed the same songs as the previous tour,alongside new songs from the deluxe album,and a cover of "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by Paul Anka,during which Sanchez would walk into the crowd. The Connie Co Show Tour concluded in October 2024.
Angel Face received a score of 66 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on six critics' reviews,indicating "generally favorable" reception.[8] Erica Campbell of NME called the album "not only a testament to Sanchez's musicality now,but to the projected trail of success his talent will no doubt lead him on",writing that if "undeniable passion is Sanchez's medium of choice,Angel Face is his first great oeuvre".[6]
John Murphy of MusicOMH wrote that "you'd swear you were listening to a vintage soul singer of the '50s –Sanchez's voice is absolutely stunning,and the 13 songs gathered on Angel Face are designed to show it off to its very best advantage",although "the problem with making a record that sounds like it belongs in the 1950s means that,all too often,it sounds a bit too much like pastiche".[5]DIY's Bella Martin felt that Angel Face "fumbles as an introduction" although Sanchez's "voice is stunning,a far-reaching,emotive vibrato evoking Roy Orbison that keeps the often surface-level nature of his lyrics from reaching full saccharine".[6]
A staff reviewer at Sputnikmusic wrote that the album "deserves some credit for possessing a small handful of excellent singles,but outside of those,this album falters almost uniformly",writing that they could "see what Stephen Sanchez was going for conceptually and aesthetically" but that "the additional eight songs add no value at best and more often than not kill whatever buzz that was generated" by the singles.[2]
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