Reviews

Margo Price’s All American Made


By Josh Schott

Last year Margo Price took the traditional country crowd by storm with her debut album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. Her twangy, outlaw influenced songs earned her widespread critical acclaim and fan adulation. Fans have anxiously awaited her sophomore follow-up. The album is excellent and could elevate her to the next level. After thoroughly listening to All American Made, one will find that it went beyond the lofty expectations.

The album begins with the rollicking, step-off song “Don’t Say It” and immediately hooks the listener into the album. The steel guitar drenched “A Little Pain,” is an instant highlight with its infectious melody and Price’s fiery delivery. She continues to shine alongside the legendary Willie Nelson on the soft ballad “Learning to Lose.”

The standout track on All American Made is “Pay Gap.” Price tackles inequality in women’s wages with absolute gusto and smarts by getting right into the meat of the issue. She sings: We are all the same in the eyes of God/But in the eyes of rich white men/No more than a maid to be owned like a dog/A second-class citizen, a magnificent display of songwriting and the type of song that needs to be heard.

The funky and trippy “Cocaine Cowboys,” will enrapture the listener with it’s sound as Price rails against the corporate cronies in suits. “Heart of America,” is an anthem for the American middle class family living in the Midwest. Price brings to light the struggles of the working families that form the backbone of the country, something that is as pertinent in these modern days as they were decades ago.

The album closes with two of her finest songs of her career, the first being “Loner.” Written by her husband Jeremy Ivey, the song calls out society for the unfair expectations that people are expected to uphold and how success is a fickle objective. It’s the kind of clear message that goes completely against the grain of the noisy goals perpetuated by gatekeepers. The album’s title track continues this point. It carefully examines the dichotomy of America. She points out how both the passionate ingenuity and the harmful intervention of America has shaped things for the better and the worse. The good and bad all goes hand in hand in the fabric of this country.

With All American Made, Price goes to the next level. She demonstrates not only astute and sharp songwriting that makes insightful commentary on the world we currently live in and also delivers a rowdy, honky tonk and outlaw vibe. Margo Price reminds us with the album, what being an artist truly means: deeply moving people in their hearts and minds through their craft.

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