Angel Face (album)

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,[3] and is killed.[4][5]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
DIY	[7]
MusicOMH	[4]
NME	[5]
Sputnikmusic	2.5/5[2]

Angel Face received a score of 61 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on five critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[6] 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".[5]

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".[4] DIY's 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".[5]

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.[2]

Musicians

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)