The Pretty Reckless | Light Me Up

Taylor Momsen, frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless, is tabloid heaven. Never mind all that. We review their latest album, ‘Light me up’.

Actress-turned-singer Taylor Momsen, frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless, is tabloid heaven. She’s young, loud, obnoxious; she swears like a trooper and dresses in ‘stripper’ heels and stockings. A field day at media offices ensues the minute Momsen partakes in an interview. Whether she’s slating Rihanna, lashing out at Disney product Miley Cyrus or just saying what’s on her mind, Momsen’s words always seem to make headlines.

One thing Momsen has over Selena Gomez, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and the other bores that Disney have churned out over the past few years is that those Disney fluffheads aren’t exactly talented musically (don’t get me started on ‘Beiber fever.’) So when a young girl who’s been thrown into the public eye for most of her life leads The Pretty Reckless, a very much accomplished band, those who bracketed Momsen as another ‘Disney kid’ will crawl back into their cave and never return.

The sound of Momsen taking a quick puff on a cigarette and hacking out a smoker’s cough, reading to blare out incoherent lyrics about being stoned on ‘My Medicine’, is the perfect opener to the 90’s grunge-feeling debut record, Light Me Up.

‘Make Me Wanna Die’, the band’s first single, still has the punch it had when it was leaked onto the internet a year ago and ‘Miss Nothing’ is a tune Hole would be proud of in their heyday.

Weaker tracks on the record include title track ‘Light Me Up’ and ‘Just Tonight’ – they still have the meaningful lyrics to back them up but the lyrics sit astride a more commercial sound. To combat the pop, ‘Goin’ Down’ blurts unapologetically, “Hey there father, I don’t wanna bother you but I’ve got a sin to confess, I’m just sixteen if you know what I mean, do you mind if I take off my dress?”. Another great track is ‘Since you’re Gone’ – the perfect empowering anthem for a break-up, that has no need to step into an 80’s commercial sound.

The ten-track album closer ‘You’ is a lovely little acoustic number, but somehow it doesn’t close off the stomping riffs and bass that pumped through most of the tracks, so luckily there are the extra bonuses of the raw demo’s ‘Far from Never’ and ‘Everybody Wants Something from Me’… the latter having a spine tingling horror feel to it, tying off the package of ‘Light Me Up’ nicely.

A natural lyricist with husky tuneful vocals to boot, Taylor’s ready- made for making a mark in the music industry. Her band mates, Ben Phillips (guitar), Mark Damon (bass) and Jamie Perkins (drums) aren’t too bad either. The spotlight, however, is really on Momsen – someone who may be tabloid fodder but constantly tells us she’s a real musician. Having given the ‘Light me up’ album a chance, we can’t argue otherwise.

Amazon MP3 download: Light Me Up

Amazon MP3 download: Light Me Up