Striding confidently on stage with an impressively swirling bouffant quiff, her scarlet-patterned top matching her lipstick, Angaleena Presley greeted the respectfully quiet Lewes audience for her intimate, sold-out show.
The mature, check-shirted crowd swayed back and forth to the music, yet didn’t leap to catch her guitar pick – a dramatic contrast to the excitement surrounding Presley’s better-known supergroup trio Pistol Annies.
Supported by funky backing band the Jamie Freeman Agreement, who’d learned 17 of Angaleena’s songs for this gig, the lyrics of her catchy songs Pain Pills and Dry County Blues looked coolly at everyday addictions.
Her father was an Appalachian coalminer, and Presley herself a former supermarket cashier, who performed with autobiographical honesty. Knocked Up was a humorous reflection on meeting her ex-husband, while Drunk openly spelled out the reason for their divorce.
Highlights included Better Off Red, a gentle song about missing her Kentucky hometown, and new material: If You Bless My Heart (I’ll Slap Your Face) was a witty attack on the lack of female solidarity delivered through a sweet smile, much as Loretta Lynn performed Fist City. From the poignancy of Outlaw to the hopeful Annies’ track Lemon Drop, Presley’s warmth and sincerity were undeniable.
Four stars
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