''Small Town Heroes'' is the fifth full length
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
Hurray for the Riff Raff, and their first to be released by
ATO Records. The album was released on February 11, 2014, and produced by their front-woman Alynda Lee Segarra. This album is considered the band's breakthrough after receiving a warm critical reception and strong commercial sales.
Reception
Commercial performance
For the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' charting week of March 1, 2014, ''Small Town Heroes'' was the No. 158 most sold album in the entirety of the United States via
The ''Billboard'' 200 and it was the No. 3 album sold in the breaking-and-entry category by the
Heatseekers Albums
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
. In addition, the album was the No. 29 most sold
Independent Albums
The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...
, and it was the No. 24 most sold
Top Tastemaker Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
. It also sold enough copies to attain No. 41 on the
Top Rock Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
chart.
Critical reception
''Small Town Heroes'' mostly received a positive reception from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
upon release. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album holds a Metascore of an 80 out of 100 based upon 15 selected independent ratings and reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'.
At
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, James Christopher Monger rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, writing that "Throughout it all Segarra struts her stuff without the slightest bit of arrogance (most of the arrangements are spare, but never willfully so), offering up a confident, yet ultimately amiable set of millennial-informed, urban crafted, Woody Guthrie-inspired, contemporary hobo-folk anthems that play fast and loose with genre tropes without losing the essence that makes them universal."
Will Hermes
Will Hermes (born December 27, 1960 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City) is an American author, broadcaster, journalist and critic who has written extensively about popular music. He is a longtime contributor to ''Rolling Stone'' and to National Pu ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, stating that "Segarra's supple, intimate vocals are about more than conjuring a musical past
..she clearly wants to shape the future, too."
At ''
Paste'', Eric R. Danton rated the album an eight out of ten, saying that the songs "encompass a broad swath of a timeless America, like old Carter Family tunes existing in the peaks and troughs of AM radio waves rolling endlessly over the miles."
''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' Eric Risch rated the album an eight out of ten, affirming that the album "is a collection of songs that speak from and for the heart of America’s fringe, calling them both to task and arms" on which Segarra "has found a home and sense of being for her voice – a voice capable and deserving of a population larger than the album’s title."
In his review for ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'', Stephen M. Deusner rated the album a seven-point-eight out of ten, asserting that "With ''Small Town Heroes'', Segarra proves herself one of the most compelling stylists in a folk revival full of suspicious acts either too beholden to tradition or too uncritical to make much of it."
Track listing
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2014 albums
Hurray for the Riff Raff albums
ATO Records albums