{"id":53211,"date":"2016-11-20T09:44:10","date_gmt":"2016-11-20T14:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=53211"},"modified":"2016-11-20T18:41:39","modified_gmt":"2016-11-20T23:41:39","slug":"the-pretty-reckless-who-you-selling-for-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/the-pretty-reckless-who-you-selling-for-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pretty Reckless | Who You Selling For"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Steve Patrick<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"the-pretty-reckless-who-you-selling-for\"Creative growth in a musician is something that should always be encouraged. However, as is the case of The Pretty Reckless\u2019 latest album Who Are You Selling For<\/em>, making too large of a stylistic change can be a bad thing. Taylor Momsen and company have released a record that is so mellow in comparison with its predecessors that it would have perhaps been better marketed as a solo project. <\/p>\n

The musical direction on Who You Selling For<\/em> was not properly advertised to fans of the band. When \u201cOh My God\u201d was released as a single, it was clear that this track was more in line with the material coming from Light Me Up<\/em> or Going to Hell<\/em>. Unfortunately, this track wasn\u2019t very indicative of the whole vibe on the new record at all.<\/p>\n

Who You Selling For<\/em> starts with the sleepy, trance-inducing \u201cThe Walls Are Closing In \/ Hangman\u201d. Then comes the ray of hope in the form of \u201cOh My God.\u201d A great riff propels this song and has Momsen\u2019s trademark snarly vocal in full form. Based on the lyrics, one has to wonder if Momsen dislikes some of the attention she gets fronting a Rock band when she sings things like, \u201cI\u2019m just a face, painted in mud … Don\u2019t try for perfect, it\u2019s never enough.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cTake Me Down\u201d was another single from the record and has a catchy chorus. Not sure if it\u2019s the production or what, but Momsen\u2019s vocal sounds extremely thin on this track. There is a point with the unbearably clich\u00e9d line, \u201cAll I want to do is rock, rock, rock…\u201d and Momsen\u2019s voice just sounds forced. <\/p>\n

How do you propel a song called \u201cPrisoner?\u201d You guessed it: tedious chains clanking through the whole thing. This wouldn\u2019t be such a bad thing if the song weren\u2019t so rudimentary. The track \u201cWild City\u201d sounds like the band wrote a song around the theme song from The Peoples Court. <\/p>\n

On \u201cBack to the River\u201d the listener finds the band channeling their inner southern rocker which comes off as disingenuous. The extremely talented Warren Haynes (Gov\u2019t Mule, ex-Allman Bros.) lends his 6-string talents to this otherwise derivative clunker. <\/p>\n

One would think that the title track should be the showpiece of the album, but the song \u201cWho You Selling For\u201d is, unfortunately, another snooze-fest. The song \u201cBedroom Window\u201d offers a deeper glimpse into how Momsen may feel about her current rockstar lifestyle with lyrics like, \u201cI have lost touch with what makes me human … I have lost touch with reality … It\u2019s all too much for me.\u201d <\/p>\n

A brief bright spot shows up late in the album with \u201cLiving in the Storm\u201d. This tune has the grit and grime of The Pretty Reckless that fans have come to know and love. It\u2019s a shame that the energy present on this track and \u201cOh My God\u201d is not throughout the whole record. <\/p>\n

Regrettably, Who You Selling For<\/em> wraps up with a few more forgettable, slow tracks. \u201cAlready Dead\u201d sounds instrumentally empty and Momsen\u2019s voice shows additional signs of strain. Additionally, there is a drum\/guitar midsection on the track that is just atrocious. Hopefully, the band ditches this producer in favor of one that can make a critical decision to not include moments like whatever is happening on this song. The album then closes with \u201cMad Love\u201d which is kind of a modern Disco nightmare of a tune and is, again, very out of character for the band.<\/p>\n

Overall Who You Selling For<\/em> is worth a listen for those interested in the more introspective and mellow side of The Pretty Reckless. However, as is the case here, not knowing the sharp change in musical style can lead to a fairly jarring experience. <\/p>\n

Genre: Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nTaylor Momsen (vocals)
\nJamie Perkins (drums)
\nBen Phillips (guitar)
\nMark Damon (bass)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. The Walls Are Closing In \/ Hangman
\n2. Oh My God
\n3. Take Me Down
\n4. Prisoner
\n5. Wild City
\n6. Back to the River (feat. Warren Haynes)
\n7. Who You Selling For
\n8. Bedroom Window
\n9. Living in the Storm
\n10. Already Dead
\n11. The Devil\u2019s Back
\n12. Mad Love
\nLabel: Razor & Tie<\/p>\n

Website: www.theprettyreckless.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 6\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Steve Patrick – Sr. Columnist — Creative growth in a musician is something that should always be encouraged. However, as is the case of The Pretty Reckless\u2019 latest album Who Are You Selling For, […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":53215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13652],"tags":[2317,9248,12879,9251,9247,12878],"class_list":{"0":"post-53211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2016","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-going-to-hell","10":"tag-light-me-up","11":"tag-taylor-momsen","12":"tag-the-pretty-reckless","13":"tag-who-you-selling-for"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}