Album Review: The Pretty Reckless - 'Going to Hell'

What do you do when your acting career died in the arse in that teen-drama-crap Gossip Girl and your band released one really good hard-rock album? Why, just look to Taylor Momsen for advice! You and the rest of the band write the next The Pretty Reckless album then take all credit by flashing your arse on the cover for what ended up being a bigger disappointment than when Lil Wayne said he'd release one more album before retirement.  

Okay, that's pretty mean but if you listen to this record, you'll see just what we're getting at.

There isn't really a set of things wrong with 'Going to Hell', there's more just like, two or three things that make it the pile of dirt it is.

Firstly, the lyrics are absolute hogwash. The full-length tries to come off as creepy, dark and edgy with aspects and themes of confessing your sins to a priest, being damned to hell, and killing people. It feels like an absolute drool fest by song three. They're unimaginative and just out right boring. Taylor, the only thing you killed was any chance you had at becoming a good actor when you went on Gossip Girl and gave a worse performance then when Tony Abbot said he'd fix the national debt.

Secondly, 'Going to Hell' is outright dull. Everything about this album screams "snore!"  The playing is so repetitive with the same distorted guitar riffs and uneventful percussion that your mind will just wander off to better things to think about. Your attention is lost fast as soon as you realise it doesn't go any further than maybe a guitar solo here and there or the odd drum fill. It is however quite lively and strong on 'Why'd You Bring a Shotgun to the Party'. But, that track loses all integrity for the fact that's it's named 'Why'd You Bring a Shotgun to the Party'. Plus, the sound-effect of gun-fire in the song is that of a semi-automatic rifle. If you're ever going to write a song with firearm references, at least get the sound-effects right.

Look, we don't mind if something is repetitive or "samey"...it just has to be good first. The problem that arises from the album's repetition and generic appeal is that it's already done poorly so what you get is just the same cheap, recycled crap you got last song over and over. In other words, please refrain from pissing on the dog corpse.

Lastly, and this is the big one: The Pretty Reckless is just simply Taylor Momsen with a backing band. Go on, without googling it, try and see if you can name at least one of the other members of the band? Yeah, you probably can't. She and her booty are the central point of the album artwork. That's right, her arse! Ten out of ten promotion skills! "Sex sells" is pretty darn relevant here.

If you're anything like us, you'll find that fact annoying when it's supposed to be a band, not a solo artist. It may seem irrelevant to the music side of things but trust us when we say it is. To the extent  where the other members are almost disregarded entirely by the majority of the band's fan-base it deals a major blow to the album's integrity, overall presentation and atmosphere. Lead singer spotlights are always going to happen but at least in other such bands as Avenged Sevenfold, singer M Shadows is just as well known as guitarist Synyster Gates. Here, Momsen takes the limelight and has it for breakfast before defecating it into your ear canal.

After what was essentially a fantastic debut album, 'Going to Hell' is a very big let down. It's repetitive, lyrically-stupid and the lack of thought to the songs is prevalent all the way through. The same guitar riffs and fills only serve to make what already comes off as poorly written even worse. In fact, the only thing this album really has going for it is that it opens up with Momsen making sex noises. That's saying something.      

1. Follow Me Down
2. Going to Hell
3. Heaven Knows
4. House on a Hill
5. Why’d You Bring a Shotgun to the Party
6. Sweet Things
7. Burn
8. Blame Me
9. Dear Sister
10. Absolution
11. Fucked Up World
12. Waiting for a Friend