Description
Label Review.
2016 album.
Our Overview.
Like her co-star Leighton Meester, Taylor Momsen rose to fame as an actress on the TV series Gossip Girl before launching a separate music career. She formed the Reckless in 2009, later changing the band’s name to the Pretty Reckless to avoid trademark problems. With Momsen on vocals, John Secolo on guitar, Matt Chiarelli on bass, and Nick Carbone on drums, the group began finding a balance between hard rock and post-grunge, taking cues from female-fronted bands like Hole and the Runaways along the way.
The Pretty Reckless completely revised their lineup in 2010, with Momsen retaining her front woman role as guitarist Ben Phillips, bassist Mark Damon, and drummer Jamie Perkins all replaced her previous bandmates.
For their latest album, the band teamed with producer Kato Khandwala for a rocking effort that showcases the band’s hard rock and soulful blues influences. Vocalist Taylor Momsenand guitarist Ben Phillips penned the 12 songs on the disc shortly after the completion of two years of touring on their previous album.
“We had so much we wanted to say, it was like shaking a can of soda on tour, and then when we started writing we cracked the seal,” says Momsen. “The touring life is very isolating. You look at the world through a bus or airplane window. But music is the healing factor. It’s the one thing that is grounding and a true companion through the forest. It saved us — again.” In addition to “Take Me Down,” a press release for the new album cites the blistering rocker “Oh My God” and the southern rock-tinged “Back to the River” as album standouts.
This album delivers all it promises and then some!