Drawing deeply from her Kentucky roots, Angaleena Presley steps away from her role as one-third of The Pistol Annies to offer a solo debut mixing vivid character sketches with dead-on social commentaries. American Middle Class invites comparisons with recent albums by Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark as well as vintage Loretta Lynn. As a songwriter, Presley has a gift for telling stories laced with downhome wit, anger, and empathy. “Dry County Blues,” “Pain Pills,” and “Knocked Up” are frank (and funny) glimpses of small-town life; “Drunk” and the title tune are defiant underdogs’ anthems. Tender ballads like “Better Off Red” add further luster to this finely wrought release.