Midwest Farmer's Daughter
by Margo Price
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. AllMusic
    Mar 23, 2016
    90
    Even when the album drifts toward the traditional--as it does on "Hurtin' (On the Bottle)" or "Four Years of Chances"--Price's sensibility is modern, turning these old-fashioned tales of heartbreak, love, loss, and perseverance into something fresh and affecting.
  2. PopMatters
    Mar 23, 2016
    90
    Her bold delivery and fresh take on classic tropes show she’s a master of detailing the chaos of life. She’s a double threat who can write ‘em and sing ‘em.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Sep 30, 2016
    89
    Underneath the blustery sass and cynicism sparkles a tender human being still nursing old wounds.
  5. Paste Magazine
    Mar 29, 2016
    85
    While she’s faced a number of setbacks to get where she is today, her talent beams golden bright on this album.
  6. Spin
    Jun 10, 2016
    80
    Price lives up to the hype by marrying hardscrabble traditionalism with modern narratives on her debut album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter.
  7. The Guardian
    Apr 21, 2016
    80
    It’s an album for whom “authenticity” is crucial, but it’s all the better for it.
  8. Drowned In Sound
    Apr 18, 2016
    80
    It’s clear that the 33-year-old has lived and lost, and drunk and cried, but has emerged from it all as a special talent.
  9. The Observer (UK)
    Apr 18, 2016
    80
    She is no innovator, but her vocals burn, her band is honky-tonk tough, and songs such as Hurtin’ on the Bottle (co-written with Caitlin Rose) tap straight into country tradition. A winner.
  10. Rolling Stone
    Mar 25, 2016
    80
    By the time Price sings about losing a first-born and crying out to God, bruised stoicism muting the sound of her knees hitting the floorboards, you're reminded of the incredible power that lies in tradition well-used. It's a power the rest of this record makes plain.
  11. Boston Globe
    Mar 24, 2016
    80
    For those on the lookout for alternatives to what currently passes for country music, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter is the latest reason to cheer.
  12. Uncut
    Mar 23, 2016
    80
    Price's excellent debut wastes absolutely no energy trying to address her place in the country-music ecosystem, and gets right to telling us who she is, rather than who she ain't.... Her voice is the record's real star: controlled, infectious, and rich with enviable natural twang. [Apr 2016, p.63]
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  13. Exclaim
    Mar 23, 2016
    80
    Midwest Farmer's Daughter will almost certainly stand among the best country records of 2016.
  14. Pitchfork
    Mar 24, 2016
    70
    Daughter is best when it's specifically first-person, when Price bends country to fit her own story rather than bend herself to fit the form.

Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Best Album of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 46
  3. Negative: 5 out of 46
  1. BrushedRed
    Apr 2, 2016
    9
    I've never been a huge fan of country music, but now I love some old country stuff. This reminds me a lot of whenever country music was classyI've never been a huge fan of country music, but now I love some old country stuff. This reminds me a lot of whenever country music was classy and respectable. She has a pure and wonderful voice. Gives me hope that country music can get out of this mess that it's in about being poor and farming and drinking beer and girls' butts. And even if it's not, it's a least nice to cherish for this moment and time. Great album… Full Review »
  2. Bleat0124
    Mar 27, 2016
    6
    Unbelievable talent. She has a sound that is completely her own. Every track is interesting and inviting is for nothing else but the mood sheUnbelievable talent. She has a sound that is completely her own. Every track is interesting and inviting is for nothing else but the mood she creates with that junglefunkyamericana vibe she got going on--that is not only way I can describe it and it works and changes and transforms itself with every track.

    Yet, very few of the tracks stands out as gripping. Yes, it is interesting to listen to and I did not regret working through the album one bit. But, it seems like she sets the mood and comes out flat both in the lyrics and the performances. It's fine if you want to sing mid to low tempo song but the lyrics has got to be strong and in most of the track they are not. Not that her topics are boring, its just not deep enough--exposed enough. You can still have a great song from average to ok lyrics, but she has to sell the words with a powerful performances. She manage to do this on a few tracks.

    "Four years of chances" and the highlight of the album for me and it is a brilliant exhibition of just how purely talented she is, although she might not have the most powerful voice--there is so much honesty and soul in her voice that is more important than how many pitches you can throw (see what I did there).

    Yet, fours year of chances also expose her greatest weakness right now I think, and that is, letting us deeper into her so she does not sound like just another girl singing about heartbreak and new love. Her sound will ensure that she never sounds like anyone but her and the soul in her voice let us know that she really believes in not only her song but her music. Which is why the first track is kind of evidence off everything that I have been trying to say: That is, the song talks about all she wants to do is getting her dad's farm back, and get her mama' back from wine (I think that's what it said). That may all be true, but my question the whole time was what's in it for her and why music. There are a million other ways to make money. She obviously wants to be a great musician, and not mentioning that as one of her reasons she make music once again reduces that song so basically having the same theme as Sugarland's "baby girl" and It seems she wanted to say a whole lot more than that.

    bottom line I'm probably going to be a fan for life. There are few people in this world that have the skill and the drive and the talent to produce LONG lasting album--I think once she opens us to go deeper into her world of ideas---she already has the talent to do just that.

    I'm excited about Margo Price    … Full Review »
  3. Jennetten
    Mar 31, 2016
    10
    Authentic, retrospective, and profound country music. Margo Price has erupted on the country music scene at a time that fans of the genre areAuthentic, retrospective, and profound country music. Margo Price has erupted on the country music scene at a time that fans of the genre are running away from the crap that the industry has pushed on them for three decades. She is the perfect artist for this moment in time.… Full Review »
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