DEATH BY ROCK AND ROLL review - Pretty awesome

 (By Melody Werner)

Death by Rock and Roll is a 2021 hard rock album by The Pretty Reckless. Signed to Fearless Records, the band gained a lot of attention due to its frontwoman, Taylor Momsen--who retired from acting in films/shows such as the Jim Carrey version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Gossip Girl to pursue this band. It's a weird career trajectory (child actor -> The CW -> this fucking album cover), for sure, but Momsen has proven that she's no carpetbagger and The Pretty Reckless on the whole has shown they're not simply a novelty band with a nominal celebrity in it. With this record (marking their fourth release), they kick plenty of ass and blew me away, considering my only previous exposure to them was that forgettable radio single "Take Me Down" from their last album in 2016. \m/

When it comes to hard rock, powerful instrumentals are essential. Rival Sons, Parasol Caravan, Audioslave, Honeybadger, Led Zeppelin, The Electric Mud--these bands all know how to blow the roof off. And yes, you can add The Pretty Reckless to that pile. Kudos to Ben Phillips (guitars), Jamie Perkins (drums), and Mark Damon (bass), cuz this thing ruuuuullllesss--loads of variety, kick, and sinister atmosphere. It feels like strolling through some nightmarish graveyard, so the album cover is pretty on-point in capturing the music's vibe. Definitely some big grunge inspirations, which the band isn't shy about, considering the motherfucking features from Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden. Oh yeah, and I wouldn't be a good Rage Against the Machine fanatic if I didn't gush about the killer Tom Morello feature too. The features here (those three guys are it) kick ass without taking over the album's spotlight from The Pretty Reckless. Production-wise too, this sounds extremely expensive, and generally quite lush, though the children's group vocals on the back-end of "And So It Went" almost ruin the song (thankfully Tom is too good on the guitar to not save it right away).

I wasn't too impressed by Momsen on "Take Me Down", but she is outstanding on this. She's not a conventionally attractive goth frontwoman who's purely here to sell things more easily, and she stands apart from a lot of those vocally. For starters, she is in no way as operatic as the many women in symphonic metal (which is a scene I really enjoy), she's much more raw and (on the more aggressive tracks) bestial. If you aren't too familiar with this band, don't expect something like Lacuna Coil or Nightwish (again, I adore both of those bands, don't take this as me slagging 'em off to lift Momsen up; we can have both). Expect, you know, hard rock with some grunge and Southern rock. Her delivery is extremely cathartic and goes toe to toe with even Jay Buchanan from Rival Sons (which, if you're not familiar, is high praise--Rival Sons is one of the best pure hard rock bands right now).

So, sonically, the album's pretty great. Lyrically, it's a bit of a mixed bag. You have tracks like "Witches Burn", which is very on the nose about it being about women being treated like shit, and I dig that a ton. Some chuds who pretend to love rock more than anyone else could do with hearing more stuff like this. "And So It Went" is a political song which pretends to have more to say than it actually does, especially since it includes Tom Morello--y'know, the guitarist for the most popular, openly socialist metal band ever? It's a song that has nothing to add to the conversation RE: our current situation of fascism, of late stage capitalism, of anything. Spare me, please. We have so many bands like Zeal & Ardor, THE FEVER 333, and Protest the Hero who are making bold stands, raging against the machine (hell--Bring Me the Horizon of all bands surprised me with how incisive (and good) their latest EP is). Either actually say something of meaning, or butt the fuck out. This isn't revolutionary, it's tepid and meaningless. Cynically saying, "Some people are rising up against the powers that be" is not actually rising up against the powers that be. *sigh* Setting that nonsense aside, you do have other lyrical highlights, such as the opener/title track having a badass lyric which is gay, so that's nice, and will not help me sell this album to my Christian Minecraft server (in all seriousness, I always appreciate queer lyrics, even when they're unintentional and have nothing to do with my own sexuality). Then you have the sincere "Rock and Roll Heaven", detailing Momsen's love of music. It sounds pretty, Momsen's performance is lovely, and the earnest emotion is palpable. Common lyrical themes, regarding the entire album, definitely revolve around rock as a lifestyle and the ever-discussed concept of the 27 Club for musicians who've died at 27 years old.

Tonally, the album is not going to set the world on fire in terms of inventiveness--it starts out hyper-aggressive and ends on a softer, sentimental note. Pretty simple, you've seen it a berjillion times elsewhere, and it works. While I can't say that the album ever had me in tears after building itself up, it works well enough and the sequencing is solid. Could be better, but it could be a million times worse.

All in all, Death by Rock and Roll is a damn fun listen with bite, even if its lyrics occasionally lack teeth. There's not a single dud in the tracklist as far as I'm concerned, but there also aren't any moments which I am going to remember twenty years from now. It's a damn good ride definitely worth checking out if you're into rock, and one I personally will be revisiting for both its high-octane ragers and mellow ballads (no doubt), but I think The Pretty Reckless can do even better. Death by Rock and Roll gets an 8.5/10, and a solid recommendation.

Great

Summary:

The Pretty Reckless has earned a new fan with this damn fun LP. To any rock fans who may be reading, this is worth the time to give a bash.