The Pretty Reckless follow up their impressive debut with an album that is darker and heavier but essentially more of the same. Going to Hell, as a title, gives an indication of the contents of some of the songs– the band bash you over the head with sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, but beneath those layers of sexualisation are some pretty good songs. Taylor Momsen has a fantastic rock metal vocal range and their sound blows the emo-pop tendencies of bands like Paramore, Tonight Alive and The Hype Theory out of the water. To call The Pretty Reckless edgy would be an understatement, but there are times when that edginess can be cringe-inducing as with opening track ‘Follow Me Down’. It opens with… moaning, if you catch my drift. It’s pretty much unashamedly about oral sex (‘follow me down to the river / I’ll be down here on my knees’) and makes you want to stop listening right there and then, but don’t because it gets better and the melodic construction of the song is actually very listenable.
Lead single and titular track ‘Going to Hell’ follows in a similar vein and quite literally lists reasons Miss Momsen and co. may be going to hell before she beseeches God for forgiveness. The acoustic version of this on the deluxe edition is excellent. The album version is furious and gritty with heavy riffs and rasping metal vocals. ‘Heaven Knows’ echoes the sentiment but with a great garage anthem vocal. ‘House on a Hill’ is the first taste of something more from this band with its building rhythm from the opening acoustic tones which are then swallowed by the chorus of guitars. This is the best song on the album in terms of lyrical content and construction. ‘Dear Sister’ and ‘Burn’ are quieter interludes but shouldn’t be mistaken for fillers. Both show different qualities to Momsen’s range and are worthy inclusions in their own right. The distinctive style of ‘Why’d You Bring a Shotgun to the Party’ makes effective use of silences to build an atmosphere. It is dark, seductive and steadily compelling even making some important statements on American culture. ‘Fucked Up World’, meanwhile, is pretty self-explanatory and reminiscent in sound of earlier tracks on the album. The album closes on a completely different note with ‘Waiting For a Friend’ which has a mournful country sound. With harmonica accompanying the soft guitar and soft vocal it is a good antidote to its predecessor.
At twenty years of age, with her gothic panda eyes, platinum hair and minimal clothing – lead singer Taylor Momsen seems insistent that the little girl from the Grinch is long gone. But it’s hard not to feel that her, debatably, over-sexualised image around which the band seem to try to sell their music could be construed as slightly depressing in an industry with so few female-fronted rock bands and fewer still who are taken seriously. It adds to the impression that The Pretty Reckless need to believe they have more to talk about and offer then sex and drugs. They are genuinely talented but want to drown it in controversy which doesn’t seem to have any meaning or purpose behind it. It distracts from the music – which is actually top notch. The melodic diversity and song-production in this album is excellent and once you get past the first couple of songs it is pretty darkly enjoyable. Taylor has the full range – she can be vulnerable one minute and channelling metal screamo the next. I can’t help but feel that this band has too much potential and sheer rock calibre to trap itself in the narrow cage it seems to be building.