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Hailey Schap

Review: "AMERICAS SWEETHEARTS" - Lauren Presley



America's Sweethearts by Lauren Presley cover art


Lauren Presley’s latest release, "AMERICAS SWEETHEARTS", is a feminist anthem which offers an expression of the mental excursions which femininity presents.  She lists off categorically, like a set of rules, the standards for womanhood in today’s world.  These each represent a subconscious “requirement” for being a woman which echo through their minds on a daily basis.  The sheer amount of them is overwhelming, but Presley doesn't stop there, to make it even more so, each rule she states is immediately followed by another which undermines it.  Every goal for women is in conflict with another.  This, of course, is well known, being spoken of since the beginning of feminism.  But, every ounce of the song is drenched in modernity.  She presents classic topics, but only those which hold the most relevance to today’s world.  Most of these standards, for instance, present the standards of a woman within her career.  She explicitly references the old school feminism she references, and with praise.  “Used to speak up now I think we’re listening too much” she sings, regarding the new wave of feminism as the slight current it is- compared to the tsunami which came before.  She brings the listener back to the basics, those rules which govern women, that are known to, and that have yet to be overcome, in an attempt to bring the listener back to the basic anger and refusal towards them.






The only way to approach such a contextual song is chronologically, so, Presley does so- and in a clever double entendre which calls out to all women.  “We were young once making big plans” she states passionately, referencing not only the literal youth and young women’s ambition, but also the past of feminism itself.  In growing up women are crushed out of these ambitions, and in passing time, the historical desires of women have been similarly smothered.  Her voice presents another element of this new wave twist.  She is a pop perfect vocalist, but her lyrics offer a nearly punk element.  Perhaps the Riot Grrrl movement never died, it simply moved to an unexpected but necessary genre: pop.  Her production certainly seems to imply so.  The instrumentals are metallic with prominent percussion and extended notes which are just short of being electric guitar solos.  And yet, it's not at all acoustic.  Every aspect of Lauren Presley’s creation has accomplished what she set out to, subtly transforming age old topics into something fresh and palatable. She cleverly presents women’s topics into a woman centered genre and allows girls to feel heard within their own scene instead of attempting to translate it towards a stereotypically masculine sound.  It's difficult to make rebelliousness heard through such a gorgeous, feminine, voice but Presley pulls it off magnificently. 



Lauren Presley was born in Texas and is now based in Nashville.  Her first release “A Little Longer” is only two years old yet she’s already amassed nearly thirty thousand listeners to date. She’s grown an audience through social media first, boasting over fourteen thousand followers on Instagram and thousands more on Tiktok, platforms she widely uses to promote her songs.  Beyond this outreach, she’s garnered attention from major blogs including Wonderland, Earmilk, and others.  These have proved fruitful with her debut song now holding over one million streams on Spotify and millions more on YouTube.  Find these platforms, songs, and information on any new releases below.



Written By Hailey Schap



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