On “Better Angels,” Americana singer-songwriter Pete Price delivers a poignant, stripped-down ballad that feels like a late-night phone call you were never supposed to make—but somehow had to. The latest single from his reflective 2024 album Pictures in Time, “Better Angels” captures a moment suspended between memory and possibility, between what was and what might still be—if only someone picks up the line.
Known for his storytelling finesse and rootsy sincerity, Price taps into something raw here. “Better Angels” isn’t about grand gestures or over-the-top production. It’s about the quiet courage it takes to confront your past with nothing but a trembling voice and an open heart. He plays the part of a man paralyzed by regret, torn between reaching out and protecting himself from the pain of being ignored. When he finally musters the guts to make the call, he’s met with nothing but a voicemail—a punch of reality that lands with more emotional weight than any cinematic reconciliation ever could.
Price’s vocal delivery is warm and ragged around the edges, the kind of lived-in tone that recalls Don Henley’s wistfulness and Jackson Browne’s intimacy. The lyricism is unpretentious and cutting in its honesty: “Look inside your heart / In the place our love had started long ago / Face the danger.” This isn’t sentimentalism—it’s a grown-up’s lament, steeped in the hard-earned wisdom of someone who’s made peace with imperfection.
Instrumentally, “Better Angels” is subtle and sure-footed. A gentle acoustic backbone carries the song, with tasteful touches of piano, violin, and mandolin coloring in the emotional spaces. Recorded with members of The Price Brothers Band at Triangle Road Studio, the track avoids unnecessary flourishes, allowing Price’s lyrics and voice to remain the centerpiece.
“Better Angels” also marks a thematic turning point in Pictures in Time, an album that Price describes as a chronological journey through the emotional terrain of a life lived with intent—and its share of missteps. If earlier tracks wrestle with self-doubt and missed chances, this one stands as a tentative act of redemption. It’s not a declaration of victory, but a quiet question: Could we still get this right?
There’s no answer in the song, and that’s precisely the point. Like the best work from artists in the Americana and singer-songwriter traditions—think Jason Isbell, Patty Griffin, or even late-era John Prine—Price understands that the real power lies in the unresolved. “Better Angels” lingers not because it tells us what happens next, but because it’s brave enough to ask.
Pete Price might not be a household name, but with songs like this, he’s carving a space for himself among the genre’s most heartfelt voices. “Better Angels” is a quietly devastating reminder that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is make the call—even if it only leads to silence.
–Ray Finney
