Angaleena Presley Goes Out On Her Own

Angaleena Presley, a member of the Pistol Annies, recently released a solo album called American Middle Class. In it she establishes herself as an alt country force with smart honest lyrics, and a wide array of musical influences. Her slightly husky voice is at times haunting, and then blunt, confronting life’s tragedies and disappointments without pretense. Each track leaves the listener with the sense that Presley has seen her fair share of hard living, and she wants the rest of America to see it too.

The first song, “Ain’t no Man,” sets the tone for the album, immediately laying on Americana guitar and introducing the electric organ. She uses a series of vivid metaphors to describe a woman who has closed herself off from love. For example she sings, “Sturdy as a trailer in a hurricane, sweet as the smell of turpentine,” and, “mean as a snake in a small town zoo, ain’t nobody who could ever get to her hear.” Ignoring the traditional verse chorus form popular on the radio today in favor of uninterrupted narratives, its clear Presley is a different kind of country artist.\

It’s easy to pick out the gospel and blue grass influences throughout the album, both in instrumentals and the imagery of her lyrics. The steel guitar and banjo can be heard throughout the album alongside acoustic and electric guitars. She also sings about church, the devil, and sin in a way that places those things as symbols of the culture she is representing.

Presley also tackles the problems small middle class communities are facing that are often ignored or pushed under the rug. In “Pain Pills,” and “Dry County Blues,” she confronts boredom as a disease that people are self-treating with alcohol and drugs, and the damage that creates in the community. She subtly draws attention to the fact that much of this is due to the economy, and the loss of middle class jobs, “half the county’s laid off, laid up, or getting high.”

In my opinion, Presley really shines in her ability to root the album in a physical place and time. “All I Ever Wanted” ends with a recording of a drug addicted neighbor reciting scripture, and the title track, “American Middle Class,” features her father, a Kentucky coal miner, talking in an actual mine where he works. Though Presley is not shy about bringing up sensitive issues, she maintains a respect for the people and place she is singing about. She comes across more as if she is sympathizing rather than condemning.

I truly enjoyed American Middle Class and its more traditional country sound. It’s not an album you put on for background noise, but something you really listen to and reflect on. It’s not all serious though. “Knocked up,” and “Drunk,” provide some offbeat humor to contrast with some of the other tracks. Angaleena Presley’s style is somewhat like Kasey Musgraves, so if you like her, and even if you don’t, I highly recommend you give this album a listen.