Fuelled by grief, The Pretty Reckless’ new album ‘Death by Rock and Roll’ is as powerful as it is sad.
After five years of radio silence, rock band The Pretty Reckless have burst back onto the music scene with their fourth debut album ‘Death By Rock And Roll’. Comprising of 12 songs and clocking in at just over 50 minutes, their latest album is a rollercoaster of emotional hits, exploring themes of death, loss and of being alone.
Formed in New York in 2008, the band are known for their big raunchy hits and promiscuous music videos such as ‘Follow Me Down’ and ‘Heaven Knows.’ First rising to fame in her role as Cindy-Loo Who in 2000 film ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’, lead singer Taylor Momsen is now a seductive and powerful female frontwoman for the band. Ben Philips is on lead guitar, Mark Damon on bass and Jamie Perkins on drums.
When contacted by Louder Sound, Momsen said: “A lot of this record was made due to how much tragedy and loss that suddenly thrust itself upon our lives in a short amount of time. I went down into a hole of depression and substance abuse and I didn’t know how to get out of it; it was music that saved me, it pulled me out and made me want to keep going.”
Inspired by the deaths of close friends of the band, like Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave) and their producer Kato Khandwala, the album is a testament to the old quip ‘what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.’ Unperturbed by showing a bit of flesh to audiences in their thousands, Momsen is no stranger to doing risqué photoshoots, like the one which adorns the band’s new album cover. Curled up, naked on a gravestone, Momsen depicts a somewhat aphrodisiac nature to the idea of death.
The title track ‘Death By Rock and Roll’ is a grunge-powered hit dripping with bitterness. Momsen describes a series of ways in which she would wish to die, and they are all as ‘rock and roll’ as death could seemingly be. However, some lyrics such as ‘I wanna go with a shotgun blast, I wanna go with a motorcycle crash’ are perhaps more indicative of the deaths of the band’s close friends which, in turn, sets the album up to be something of a memorial for those the band have lost.
Cameos from Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil bolster the grunge vibes in the gloomy second track ‘Only Love Can Save Me Now.’ The song is a witness statement to Momsen’s depressive slump; “Writing this record was all I had left, and I think you can really hear that on the album.”
‘And So It Went’, featuring Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave) is seriously fast-paced, as it is an angsty anarchic soliloquy at the state of a war-torn world and the powers that rule them. ‘No one seems to see that you and me are just the same as God meant it to be.’ Bond-esque with the music video to match is ‘25.’ Fingers crossed MGM consider it for the 26th instalment of the franchise’s soundtrack.
An eclectic choice for the album’s centrepieces are tracks like ‘Got So High,’ not dissimilar to a song you would hear from Lana Del Rey. ‘Broomsticks‘ is another which feels a lot more laid back, like swaying at a gig, rather than opening up a mosh pit. ‘Broomsticks’ is followed by ‘Witches Burn‘, a story in itself.
One of the happier songs on the album, significant of Momsen’s resurrection and release from the binds of depression that held her back is ‘Turning Gold’ – ‘I can feel the power, I’m turning gold.’ The band take a step back to reminisce about old friends and rock legends in Rock and Roll Heaven. They drop names, from The Beatles to Hendrix, later paying tribute to ex-producer Khandwala in ‘Harley Darling.’
The album in its entirety is an emotional mess that you’re likely to listen to whilst curled up in bed eating a litre of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Yet, it’s also lyrically genius in the way Momsen is able to explore her grief and depressive slump through the power of song, displaying incredible vocal control throughout. Here at Safe And Sound, we’re excited to see what The Pretty Reckless comes out with next.
