Angel Face (album) explained

Angel Face
Type:	studio
Artist:	Stephen Sanchez
Cover:	Stephen Sanchez - Angel Face.png
Length:	39:04
Label:	Mercury Republic
Producer:	Ian Fitchuk Nick Lobel Ben Schneider Blake Slatkin Konrad Snyder
Prev Title:	Easy on My Eyes
Prev Year:	2022

Angel Face is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez, released on September 22, 2023, through Mercury and Republic Records.^[1]

The album was preceded by three singles: "Evangeline", "Only Girl" and "Be More". The album also includes Sanchez's 2021 single, "Until I Found You".

A deluxe version of the album was released on April 26, 2024, including five new songs.

Background

The album follows a "loose concept" of a fictional version of Sanchez named "The Troubadour Sanchez" rising to fame in 1958 after performing his song "Until I Found You" before he falls in love with a woman named Evangeline, who is the girlfriend of a mob boss named Hunter,^[2] and is killed.

Tour

Throughout late 2023, Sanchez and his band went on a headline tour performing the songs on the record and performing covers of Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" and The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody", and This Boy by The Beatles.

Sanchez toured across the United States in late 2023, and across Europe in early 2024, and is currently touring across Australia.

Critical reception

Angel Face received a score of 61 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on five critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. Erica Campbell of NME called the album "not only a testament to Sanchez's musicality now, but to the projected trail of success his talent will no doubt lead him on", writing that if "undeniable passion is Sanchez's medium of choice, Angel Face is his first great oeuvre".

John Murphy of MusicOMH wrote that "you'd swear you were listening to a vintage soul singer of the '50s – Sanchez's voice is absolutely stunning, and the 13 songs gathered on Angel Face are designed to show it off to its very best advantage", although "the problem with making a record that sounds like it belongs in the 1950s means that, all too often, it sounds a bit too much like pastiche". DIYs Bella Martin felt that Angel Face "fumbles as an introduction" although Sanchez's "voice is stunning, a far-reaching, emotive vibrato evoking Roy Orbison that keeps the often surface-level nature of his lyrics from reaching full saccharine".

A staff reviewer at Sputnikmusic wrote that the album "deserves some credit for possessing a small handful of excellent singles, but outside of those, this album falters almost uniformly", writing that they could "see what Stephen Sanchez was going for conceptually and aesthetically" but that "the additional eight songs add no value at best and more often than not kill whatever buzz that was generated" by the singles.

Track listing

Sample credits

• "Evangeline" contains a sample and interpolation of "Honey", by Bobby Goldsboro.

Personnel

Musicians

• Stephen Sanchez – vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 1, 3–5, 7–11), clapping (3)
• Ian Fitchuk – acoustic guitar (1, 11–13), piano (1, 3–7), accordion (3), background vocals (3, 4, 9, 12, 13), bass guitar (3–9, 12, 13), drums (3–9, 11, 12), electric guitar (3, 4, 6, 8, 9), glockenspiel (3, 5, 12, 13), clapping (3), Mellotron (4, 12, 13), nylon-string guitar (12, 13), baritone guitar (12)
• Nick Lobel – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (2)
• Aaron Gilbert Steele – drums (2)
• Konrad Snyder – background vocals (3–5, 9, 11), clapping (3)
• Gabe Simon – background vocals, clapping (3)
• Brooks Gengenbach – electric guitar (4, 8)
• Matt Combs – strings (5, 11)
• Stephen Day – background vocals (5)
• Georgia Brown – background vocals (6)
• Kyle Ryan – electric guitar (7)
• Jim Hoke – saxophone (7)
• Sarah Buxton – background vocals (8, 9)
• Anson Eggers – organ (8)
• Daniel Tashian – background vocals, Mellotron, piano (9)
• Mark Barry – drums (10)
• Miguel Briseño – bass guitar (10)
• Brandon Walters – electric guitar (10)
• Tom Renaud – electric guitar (10)
• Laufey – vocals (10)
• Todd Lombardo – nylon-string guitar (11)

Technical

• Ian Fitchuk – production (1, 3–9, 11–13)
• Konrad Snyder – production (1, 3–9, 11–13), mixing (all tracks), engineering (1–9, 11–13)
• Blake Slatkin – production (1)
• Nick Lobel – production (2)
• Ben Schneider – production (10)
• Adam Grover – mastering (1, 3, 5–13)
• Greg Calbi – mastering (2, 4)
• Steve Fallone – mastering (2, 4)
• Nick Lobel – engineering (2)
• Mark Barry – engineering (10)

Charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"

Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[3]	23
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[4]	20
US Billboard 200^[5]	90

Notes and References

1. Stephen Sanchez on Debut Album Angel Face: 'It Happened Naturally'. American Songwriter. Hopper. Alex. September 22, 2023. September 26, 2023.
2. 20 Questions With Stephen Sanchez: The Troubadour on His Alter Ego, Advice From Elton John & More. Billboard. Havens. Lyndsey. September 21, 2023. September 26, 2023.
3. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 2, 2023. September 29, 2023.
4. Web site: NZ Top 40 Albums Chart. Recorded Music NZ. October 2, 2023. September 30, 2023.
5. Billboard 200: Week of October 7, 2023. Billboard. October 3, 2023.