{"id":2172,"date":"2014-11-10T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2014-11-10T14:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?p=2172"},"modified":"2015-01-22T11:13:40","modified_gmt":"2015-01-22T17:13:40","slug":"angaleena-presley-goes-out-on-her-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2014\/11\/10\/angaleena-presley-goes-out-on-her-own\/","title":{"rendered":"Angaleena Presley Goes Out On Her Own"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Angaleena<\/a>Angaleena Presley<\/a>, a member of the Pistol Annies<\/a>, recently released a solo album called American Middle Class.<\/em> 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The first song, \u201cAin\u2019t no Man,\u201d 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, \u201cSturdy as a trailer in a hurricane, sweet as the smell of turpentine,\u201d and, \u201cmean as a snake in a small town zoo, ain\u2019t nobody who could ever get to her hear.\u201d 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.\\<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"Angaleena\"<\/a>Presley also tackles the problems small middle class communities are facing that are often ignored or pushed under the rug. In \u201cPain Pills,\u201d and \u201cDry County Blues,\u201d 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, \u201chalf the county\u2019s laid off, laid up, or getting high.\u201d<\/p>\n

In my opinion, Presley really shines in her ability to root the album in a physical place and time. \u201cAll I Ever Wanted\u201d ends with a recording of a drug addicted neighbor reciting scripture, and the title track, \u201cAmerican Middle Class,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

I truly enjoyed American Middle Class<\/em> and its more traditional country sound. It\u2019s not an album you put on for background noise, but something you really listen to and reflect on. It\u2019s not all serious though. \u201cKnocked up,\u201d and \u201cDrunk,\u201d provide some offbeat humor to contrast with some of the other tracks. Angaleena Presley\u2019s style is somewhat like Kasey Musgraves, so if you like her, and even if you don\u2019t, I highly recommend you give this album a listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americana","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2172"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2385,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172\/revisions\/2385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}