Margo Price - All American Made

Margo Price

All American Made

2017

Spotify

Midwest Farmer's Daughter was a revelation and put Margo Price on the map. She was already a respected musician working the Nashville circuit, but that album thrust her forward with soulful songwriting and a deep respect for Americana. Her music was never joyful though and shone a light on the bleaker sides of what it means to be American. A lot of times in Country Music America is celebrated for its best qualities, but the things that keep people oppressed and knocked down are rarely a topic of conversation. Not for Margo Price. While on Midwest Farmer's Daughter she spent the majority of the time looking inward and examining what in her life had brought her to this place. On this new record All American Made however she dives more into the collective idea of being an American and the perils that existence is fraught with. Like Jason Isbell she isn't really enticed by the world pop country tries to paint and prefers to hold up a mirror. It doesn't mean that the songs are all heavy and weighed down though they can be light and fun yet still deal with real shit. Just to further confirm that Margo has arrived in Country Music by the third track she is singing a duet with legend Willie Nelson. He is the only feature on the record and the two slide right into a cozy relationship. It is utterly haunting when the two sing "Is winning?/ really learning/ to lose" not in harmony but next to each other in a perfectly imperfect union. Margo Price has something really meaningful to say and it is all the more inspiring that it comes from this strong woman. 

She makes her feelings known on "Pay Gap" a splashy number that cuts down the Patriarchy from start to finish. The most vivid line comes when she says "We're all the same in the eyes of god/but in the eyes of rich white men/ I'm no more than a maid to be owned like a dog". Margo Price is so great at singing really straight forward language. It makes her intent really apparent, yet the words she chooses are still totally beautiful. Though much of this album was written before the election you can't help but sense the dread coming through. At one time it may have seemed like everything was going to be ok, no matter how bad it got, but that sentiment is vanishing more and more day by day. Margo is then choosing what she can do, how she can react and it's in writing songs that capture this moment, and represent  the way people are really feeling. She does all this with this constant groove and constant commitment to rich songwriting. The album is paced so well with great peaks and great valleys. Margo Price isn't suffering any sophomore slump on All American Made and it may just be the album we all need right now. 

8.0 out of 10