Friday, February 5, 2021

the Pretty Reckless : "Death By Rock N Roll"





This album opens up fairly blues based Led Zeppelin styled rock n roll with her smoky vocals that drip with sex. They have been at it for 12 years now . The second song is less blues infused than the first and has more bombast to it , as the guitar solos come firing at you. I am not as much of a fan of "And so it Went" . It has a decent groove, but feels like it is trying a bit hard. Like the chorus of little kids joining in feels a little much. I already heard  "25" going into it. Giving it a closer listen revealed it is a much better song than earlier listens suggested. There is a more metallic almost Tool like tension to "My Bones" . Momsen lets her voice crack into a more aggressive scream. This is the album's heaviest song. 

"So High" feels like a mellower 90s radio song. Then things get spooky with the interlude "Broomsticks" leading into the song "Witches Burn" . This has some social commentary about the struggles of women, without beating you over the head with preaching. Once you get into the meat of "Witches Burn" it works more off a rock n roll swagger.  "Standing at the Wall" reminds me of a Bonnie Raitt song. It is a decent ballad for what it is . "Turning Gold" is middle of the road rock n roll. Is it catchy? Yes. Well done? yes. My thing ? Not really, to major chordy.  The same could be said of "Rock N Roll Heaven". It makes me think of Poison meets the Band's cover of "Take a Load off  Fanny".

"Harley Darling" is a very west coast rock not to out of the sonic zip code of the Eagles or maybe even Sheryl Crow, but she tends to have more grit in her voice. I think she is going for a wider audience than the hard rock crowd. I have listened to this album several times, there are some songs I like more than others . I think she uses her voice well and despite at times being slightly derivative they are good song writers. The whole thing is very organic and well done I will give this album a 9.    


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