There’s a ferocity to Angaleena Presley’s song ‘Pain Pills.’ It’s theme of working class addiction and hypocrisy is not new, but Presley puts her unflinching spin on it with a driving hillbilly meets metal sound that is striking and fits the theme of mortality to a tee.
“A little bit of hurt surely gonna kill a lot of good people in these here hills. Lord, won’t you save us from these old pain pillsâ€
The video shows Presley singing among quick cuts of doctors satchels, DÃa de Muertos make-up, grave diggers and a man that might be Dr. Brown or, perhaps, el diablo himself.
“I started [that song] as I was on my way home from a funeral,†she told Radio.com. “A friend of mine from high school OD’d [and] at the funeral the mom was walking in going, ‘Oh they had a heart problem. It was a heart issue.’ We knew what was going on. This is when I realized, this is starting to become a problem.â€
“Pain Pills” is available on the album “American Middle Class”