Express & Star

Review: The Pretty Reckless, O2 Institute, Birmingham

Formed from the ashes of hard rock group Heaven's Basement, The Cruel Knives stormed the O2 Institute as part of their debut tour as support to New York's The Pretty Reckless.

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Performing with a confidence and air that would hint towards the band being veterans, it's shocking to find out it was only their second performance.

Although the audience were unfamiliar with the band's material, it was obvious by the end of the set that the group had managed to win a lot of the crowd over and will be welcomed on their return to the city.

Perhaps more familiar to some as Jenny Humphrey from drama series Gossip Girl or Cindy Lou Who in 2000's Dr Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Taylor Momsen now spends her time fronting hard rock band The Pretty Reckless.

Formed in 2009, the band are perhaps best known for single Make Me Wanna Die that reached the Top 20 in the UK charts back in 2010. Currently touring in support of the band's third release, Who You Selling For, the O2 Institute in Birmingham was sold out for The Pretty Reckless's first return to the city since 2014.

Opening with the storming Follow Me Down, the band proceeded to blast through a set jam packed with material from all three studio albums. It's obvious from the get go that this is the 'Taylor' show, with the rest of the band seemingly blending into the background leaving Momsen to lead proceedings.

Musically The Pretty Reckless sound much better on record, with only three band members failing to recreate the tracks effectively in the live environment however Momsen's vocals do well to draw away from this with an impressive range and husky style.

Tracks such as Heaven Knows and Make Me Wanna Die are the big rock stompers that the crowd had come to see, however the atmosphere is often lost on some of the newer and slower tracks.

Upon leaving the O2 Institute you can't help but feel that The Pretty Reckless is less of a reflection of four people doing what they love but a cash cow to flaunt a famous front woman. But then perhaps I'm not the target demographic.

By Dan Earl

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