Impressions/Thoughts:
The Pretty Reckless
is a newer band that formed in 2009 and recently produced their third album
entitled Who You Selling For. I was introduced to this band through
their second album, Going to Hell, which impressed me with the high caliber of the
songs that were presented within that release. After listening to their second album,
I felt enthusiastic about their music and was looking forward to their next
album release. When The Pretty Reckless
announced their third album was coming out and released the first single from
it, I was anxiously anticipating listening to the new music.
The Music:
As the album begins, the first segment of the two-part song
is a piano piece that is called “The Walls Are Closing In” which is the first
part of the song “The Walls Are Closing
In/Hangman”. After the brief piano intro, the song switches to the second
part entitled “Hangmen” which has a very rhythmic riff which picks up the pace
and leads into the chorus. In the beginning of the song, the piano complements Taylor Momsen’s melodic voice, whereas during
the second part of the song, both the music and her voice are very monotonic
except during the chorus.
“Oh My God”
demonstrates Momsen’s rougher vocal
style, which has been one of the draws to The
Pretty Reckless band. Her style is unlike that of most female vocalists
that we are accustom to hearing who typically demonstrate their soprano
abilities. “Oh My God” is the
fastest song on the album and hits that hard rock cord.
“Take Me Down” is the lead single and has a good opening riff which leads to a bold catchy chorus. The song is rather euphoric sounding, but has a serious message. It’s got a catchy melody and a chorus to boot and the singer makes you focus on the lyrics. To me it seem that this song has a “Sympathy for the Devil” vibe to it. The tone of the song starts slower and slowly builds up as the tune continues to the end. It’s a solid hard rock tune.
“Prisoner” starts
with clapping to the beat of a march that continues throughout the song. The
sound reminds me of what you might hear when a chain gang is working. It also reminds
me of an old gospel or blues song. The guitar and bass enter giving a simple
slow riff making way for Momsen’s
vocals which form a melody above the rhythmic beat. Lyrically the line “You can
have my body, But you can’t have me” mirrors the theme of being a prisoner.
“Wild City”
reminds me of a 70’s Blaxploitation movie, especially the show Shaft.
“Back to the River”
is a song that reminds me of an Allman
Brothers esque southern rock jam song, and it also features a former member
of The Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes, who was with The Allman Brothers Band from 1989–1997
and 2000–2014.
The title track “Who
You Selling For” has some references to the members of the Beatles and Pink
Floyd. Overall this song sounds like a ballad as it has a softer riff.
The acoustic song, “Bedroom
Window”, is a short and sweet piece of music. It’s a ballad like song with
a simple melody that goes up and down making a soothing track where the focus
is on the words.
“Living In The Storm”
picks up the pace with a faster beat that has me tapping my foot to the beat. It’s
one of the longer tracks on the album and showcases the instrumental abilities
of the band. The song also has a really nice guitar solo about halfway through
the song. The tune seems to touch on the subject of substance abuse and trying
to avoid being pulled into that way of life.
“Already Dead”
slows the album tempo down with a very bluesy riff which makes for a sadder
song. The music emotes strong feelings of sadness about a person who is dead, which
then amplifies with a guitar solo midway through the song.
“The Devil's Back”
is the longest song on the album, being a little over seven minutes long. The
song retains the somber mood that has been created on the latter half of the
album. After all the lyrics are sung, the guitar starts to wail mimicking the
vocal melody. This song is very reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s wailing guitars.
The album closes with the song, “Mad Love”. It starts off with a Beatles esque sound in the intro, then changes into a funky beat. Momsen’s vocals have a distortion to
them that creates an interesting dynamic in the song. I like the steady beat
but this song focuses on the melodic vocals more than the instrumentals, with
the vocal solos sounding like there are multiple people singing together.
Verdict:
Who You Selling For is another top-heavy album, where most of
the catchy hits are played on the first half. The Pretty Reckless
continues to mature musically with every album. There are songs that are
reminiscent of The Beatles, Allman Brothers and Pink Floyd, showing the bands
influences on their sleeve. This album is a great hard rock album and I
recommend you check it out especially if you love hard rock.
Top 5 Songs:
1) “Take Me Down”
2) “Oh My God”
3) “Prisoner”
4) “Living In The
Storm”
5) “Back to the River”
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| From left to right: Mark Damon, Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips and Jamie Perkins |
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