The Pretty Reckless 'Going to Hell' Album Review

Artist: The Pretty Reckless
Album: Going to Hell (2014)
Genre: Rock

The Pretty Reckless ‘Going to Hell’ Album Review

I first became a fan of Taylor Momsen in the show, Gossip Girl because as I have said a few times, I’m a shameful teeny bopper. That being said, Taylor Momsen was my favourite thing about the show, so when I heard she had music out, I was curious.

It was different. Very different to what I was expecting. But I loved it anyway; I even pre-ordered her first album (which I rarely do) and its still one of my favourite albums today. Light Me Up is flawless and there isn’t a song I could choose to be my least favourite. There were only ten songs on that album so luckily there is a few more on this one.

I realise that I’m referring to this as Taylor Momsen and not The Pretty Reckless but I really don’t know much about the other band members and if it wasn’t for Taylor, I probably wouldn’t have sat down and listened to them in the first place.

Going to Hell has taken four years to come out, which I think is a seriously long time for a second album to come out (and I thought waiting two years for the next Taylor Swift album was painful.) I have no idea what the singles are or what the music videos are because one of them has a bunch of snakes in and I don’t deal with that shit!

So here are my thoughts and enjoy!

Track 1 – Follow Me Down

When I first heard this song, I didn’t even notice the intro until half way through it and then my initial reaction was: what the hell am I listening to? Whilst I’m not sure the introduction is necessary, I wasn’t surprised by it – It is Taylor’s new album after all. I think this is a really great starting track to the album, it has a great rock vibe and I do like the hook of the song where Taylor’s voice goes slow, it really builds up to when the instruments come in.

Track 2 – Going to Hell

This is the title of the album and I think the lead the single of the album also. Don’t quote me on that though. I like this song a lot but it does sound a lot like Goin’ Down to me (a song from the first album). I don’t know if it’s because of all the religious talk but the music just sounds so similar to me. I just gave that song another listen and yeah, so alike to me. I think I would like this song a lot more if I didn’t think the two were so similar. However, it never ceases to amaze me how strong Taylor’s voice sounds to me and last part of this song really shows that.

Track 3 – Heaven Knows

This song is definitely a catchy one; I was singing the whole of the following day. However, I have this serious disliking of songs having this choir-like music in the background. I just really don’t like it and I don’t see at all what need there is for it to be in this song. I think I would like this song a lot more without the backing track. Taylor’s voice again, sounds amazing in it, the lyrics are catchy (as I’ve already mentioned) and I really like the tune of the song – I think that’s what makes the song get stuck in your head so much.

Track 4 – House on a Hill

The opening of the song sounds like a radio broadcast from the 50s, its talking about how the poor are growing and how their human rights, no longer exist. I don’t know if it’s the opening or just the title but the song really gets me picturing some old abandoned mental hospital from the get go. Weird. I love this song! It really takes me back to her previous songs like Nothing Left to Lose which happened to be one of my favourite songs of the last album. I really cannot stress anymore how amazing Taylor’s voice sounds in this song (I know I’ve mentioned it on every song so far, but seriously!) This is definitely one of my favourite songs of the album.

Track 5 – Sweet Things

The song starts out with a good beat, though Taylor seems hell bent on repeating the line ‘evil’ too many times for my liking. We also get to hear a little from one of the other band members (who knew there were other band members?!) and I really like the way he sounds in contrast with Taylor. I hope we get to hear more of his voice in future tracks. I really don’t get screamo either and I know The Pretty Reckless is a rock band but I just hate when Taylor starts screaming. It doesn’t add anything to the song and there’s no need for it. As for this song as a whole, it really doesn’t come across as anything special to me, it’s a very repetitive song. It’s a good song and I wouldn’t be hasty to skip it but it also won’t be selecting to listen to it all the time.

Track 6 – Dear Sister         

This track is incredibly short, so short I wondered why they bothered putting it on the album. I like it though, Taylor’s voice sounds almost angelic. But at 56 seconds, I don’t think there is much I could say about this, I would much prefer a full version because I really liked where this song was going, slightly disappointed.

Track 7 – Absolution

I like the soft beat that introduces the song that then transitions to a louder rock beat. Taylor sounds really great on this track; her voice is a mixture of rock and soft rock as she sings the hook. I feel like there are three different tones to Taylor’s voice on this track and I definitely know which one I like the best out of all of them. Overall, it’s a good track but not a memorable one for me.

Track 8 – Blame Me

For some reason the opening sound really hurt my head after a few seconds so I did not particularly enjoy that. However, I really love Taylor’s voice on this track. I love how she can make her voice sound so soft but still having that rock edge to it. I really like this track and definitely think I need to listen to it more, I’ve been missing out. That being said, it isn’t a stand out track. It’s a good track just not that good.

Track 9 – Burn

This is another track that showcases Taylor’s soft voice with a rock edge and her voice sounds really strong when she sings the title track. Again, this is a really short track at under just two minutes. I don’t know why the band has chosen to fill their album with this, the tracks are good but so short. Another forgettable one for me.

Track 10 – Why’d You Bring a Shotgun to the Party

Finally a track with a rock beat. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the last few tracks but they’ve been very ‘soft rock’ rather than the upbeat songs I sometimes get accustomed to hearing from the band. This song sounds very much like Factory Girl from their previous album, so much so that I was singing that song whilst this one was playing. The beat of the chorus sounds almost identical in my head, maybe it’s just me? This song also gets annoying past the two minute mark.

Track 11 – Fucked Up World

This is another song that sounds so familiar to another one from their previous album but I can’t quite figure out which one. It’s very much a rock song but that is pretty much it. It has drug and sex mentions and whatever but there is nothing incredibly special about this song. It could probably get catchy if I chose to listen to it often but that is very doubtful.

Track 12 – Waiting for a Friend

I like this song, it has an almost country vibe to it and I like my country music. I know I’m comparing a lot of songs to the previous albums but that’s because they sound so similar. Whilst, this doesn’t sound like ‘You’ it reminds me of it, slow song with emotional lyrics, also coincidentally the last track of the album. This is definitely a song I would choose to listen to repeatedly.

So overall, I feel like I’ve sounded like I haven’t enjoyed this album at all and that is not true. It is a good album, just not a patch on the first one. This album has so many tracks that sound similar to Light Me Up and considering this album took four years to come out, that’s a poor effort. Also, the lyrics, I don’t know how many of these songs Momsen had a hand in writing but I know she will have had some, the lyrics have not stood out to me at all. When I heard Light Me Up, I had the songs memorised within days. The songs were catchy, the beat was good and lyrics were great. In my opinion, this is a poor follow up to that album but a acceptable standalone album.

Overall I give it three stars, it just wasn’t worth waiting four years for.