The Pretty Reckless: Flyleaf meets Joan Jett.
The Pretty Reckless
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
Label: Interscope Records
Release: June 2010
Type: EP
Genre: Alternative Rock
Links: Official, MySpace, Wiki
In the days where pubescent Hollywood starlets take to singing like you or I might take to blogging, you'd think it'd be hard to take Gossip Girl's Taylor Momsen seriously, but unless you're deaf, her music makes it pretty hard not to. The girl can sing!
Momsen's band, The Pretty Reckless, released a self-titled four-track EP on June 22.
The lead single, "Make Me Wanna Die," is a dark love song set to rock music. Big guitars grab you by the throat, while Momsen's raspy voice creeps through the chaos. The next track, "My Medicine," is Flyleaf-esque, with Momsen starting the song with a clear, airy line, until the band takes over, and Momsen drops down an octave to join them.
"Goin' Down" follows: "Hey there father, I don't want to bother you, but I got a sin to confess. I'm just 16, if you know what I mean, do you mind if I take off my dress?" On the surface, the song is about Momsen getting back at a boy who cheated on her. After killing the boy in question, she seeks possible redemption by visiting a father. Really, it appears the song is a subtle jab at the Catholic church. "Perhaps there is something that we could work out; I notice your breathing is starting to change. We could go in the back behind all these shacks and these bibles, and get out of this cage."
Offended? Amused? Interested? Good! The Pretty Reckless isn't completely reckless. In a subtle way, they make you think about topics many other singers/bands don't even touch on, lately. If you were offended, you might be wondering about taboo topics. If you were amused, you might be considering the irony in our world today. If you're interested, then lucky for you, there's one more song.
The EP ends with "Zombie," a haunting song that leaves the listener thinking. "To all of you who broke me, I am I am a zombie." Is this a bitter tip of the hat to anyone who has negatively affected Momsen in the past? Pushed her and broke her until she became unfeeling and uncaring, like a zombie? Or is all her success a heaping helping of sweet revenge in the form of this song? Regardless of the scenario you choose, it seems it's all a little bittersweet, and the song is saying the negative things in her past had to happen to her so that she could get to where she is now, for better or for worse.
Many have labeled Momsen as this generation's Courtney Love, though Momsen insists she's more about Kurt Cobain than Love. Personally, I feel she channels Joan Jett, with a dash of Cherie Currie. But why should you care about Momsen or her band?
Beyond her singing talents, perhaps what really makes Momsen's music interesting is it draws off what used to be good, before Hannah Montana was all we got across the air waves. The Pretty Reckless' post-grunge style is something new for younger listeners, and something familiar for anyone who ever air-guitared the opening guitar chords for Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
And with my general bashing of today's teenybopper acts, let me mention one more thing. Even though Momsen is 16 years old, and Miley Cyrus, poster-child for today's teenyboppers, is 17, the two should not be compared--not through music, or beyond. Maybe you wouldn't want your kid-sister listening to Momsen's lyrics just yet, but there is not a double-standard when Cyrus is slammed for provocative outfits and racy lyrics, whereas Momsen is practically untouched for all her antics. Cyrus signed on with Disney to make money off children. Being a role model, to some extent, comes with that territory. Momsen, on the other hand, went another route. In this case, age is only a number, and both young ladies are free to live their lives as they wish, but Cyrus signed on to be a role model--Momsen did not.
But whether or not you agree with me on that last point, leave your issues at the door and give this EP a shot. Momsen's incredibly talented--her voice is amazing! The Pretty Reckless is short and sweet, dirty and gritty, and will stick with you long after you finish listening to it.
Expect another review when the full-length album is available!
Recommended for fans of: Flyleaf, Joan Jett, Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain, Plastiscines
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