She may emphasize her ties to the past but she's intent on expanding the tradition, turning country music into a bolder, more inclusive place, and that desire is what makes Wrangled such a compelling album.

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Song after song features sharp lyrics, sublime melodies, strong performances and suitable production, with Presley cool, calm and collected at the center of it all. She may never be the most famous Pistol Annie, but on her second album, Angaleena Presley proves she belongs right alongside her colleagues as an artist.

Angaleena Presley may be the feistiest woman in country music since Dolly Parton ... though Wrangled suggests she’s less prepared to toe the Nashville line.

Wrangled is a rootsy collection of interpersonal dramas and vivid field reports from Presley’s American underclass.

Presley’s righteous fury and mordant wit burn even brighter on ... Wrangled.

Taken as a whole, Wrangled feels like an antidote to some of the more testosterone-driven material that’s come out of Nashville in recent years.

A few years ago, between the Pistol Annies and her debut solo album, Angaleena Presley delivered a one-two punch of working class solidarity and Southern religious devotion. This is what makes her long awaited followup such a disappointment. Wrangled lacks ambition.

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veery

Nicely done and subtly written country/Americana album. I was worried after reading the Exclaim review that I'd have heard this all before, but while Angaleena's themes are similar to those of her debut, it's a testament to her songwriting -- which is among the best in the genre -- that she makes the words and melodies sound so fresh.

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