The Pretty Reckless are currently touring the UK with Fall Out Boy, playing to sell out crowds in some of the country's biggest venues, and we got the chance to chat to Taylor Momsen before she hit the stage with the band in Manchester.
Your new album 'Going To Hell' is officially out here in the UK this week, what can you tell us about the creative process behind this record?
Well (laughs) it's a long story! But we got off touring 'Light Me Up' for about two and a half, three years and after touring the whole world and seeing a lot of stuff, that kind of changed my perspective of how I saw things.
So, I went away to kind of decompress and digest everything we had just done, and started writing for the new record, and that's how a lot of the songs started. You have to get in your own head space.
Everything's written on acoustic guitar and once the song's finished and we can play it from front to back on the acoustic and it's good, then we bring in the band and figure out what the production should be and how it should develop from there.
Every song's done a little differently so there is no real formula (laughs) you kind of wait for something to inspire you and see where that takes you. Everything starts with an idea, whether that's a chord, or a lyric, or a melody - whatever it is.
This record's different to 'Light Me Up' in the sense that after we toured for so long we kind of - when we made 'Light Me Up' we hadn't toured as a live band yet, we'd made the record first and then went on tour, and we don't play with tracks so we had to figure out how to take this really kind of produced record and strip it down to a four-piece band and to play it live, and after three years of touring we became a really tight unit as a four-piece, so we kept that in mind with this record.
I think 'Going To Hell' is much more raw, it's much more honest, stripped down than 'Light Me Up' was - it's very minimal production - it's just two guitars, bass, drums, vocal and so I think it definitely represents what we sound like as a live band a lot more than 'Light Me Up' did.
In that sense how would you say The Pretty Reckless have evolved as artists since 'Light Me Up'?
Well, I mean for one I'm older (laughs), I wrote the first record was I was 14, 15 and I wrote this one when I was 19, 20 so it's more mature. There's definitely been an evolution in the band and I think we kind of really honed into a sound on this record.
Well as a woman in the music industry do you believe there's still a double standard surrounding females?
I mean I think it always exists I guess, but I don't really see it like that. I'm a woman but I'm on tour doing exactly the same as the boys! So, (laughs) you know? I don't really, I don't like to look at music as separating it from gender, or age, or race, or whatever it is, or even stylistically - I don't like the genre side - I think if you can write a good song and it can connect to people then I'll listen to it and I'm in, you know?
How important do you think it is to allow artists creative expression in all that they do?
I think it's the most important thing. I mean, as soon as you have a team, or as soon as the music industry 'machine' team comes in and takes over, it's no longer something original, it's no longer a piece of art. So, it's always a struggle as an artist to see your vision through and have it done the way you want - not just the way you want but the way it's meant to be because as soon as your vision's taken away from you it's no longer yours and at that point you might as well be (laughs) you know, singing someone else's song, so, it's a constant fight to make that happen.
You're currently touring throughout the UK, how are you finding that whole experience?
It's awesome. We love the UK. Every time we're here we have such a great time and I got loads of friends of here so it's always a good time, it kind of feels like a second home. (laughs)
We're all big Britophiles! You guys have the best bands - The Beatles, Zeppelin - the list goes on and on! The Who! Pink Floyd! So, we always have a great time and the fans are f**king awesome, and the shows are always a blast.
And what can fans expect that are coming to see you live?
A very loud, rock-ity, rock-roll show! I said "expect to leave deaf, blind and mute!" (laughs)
Away from your career as a musician do you miss acting at all?
No, acting was always a day job and when I finally had written a record with the material I wanted people to hear and found the right band, and the right producer and the right people that saw my vision and were on the same page as me, and had written a record and wanted to put it out, it was time to jump ship and I quit - I quit five years ago - and have been touring the world two records, two EPs later here we are! (laughs)
So finally, what should we expect from you in the coming months?
S**t tonnes of touring - we're gonna be going everywhere. I mean literally going around the world again, and we'll be back in the UK I'm sure doing a headline - like a full proper headline at some point.
More videos, more singles and then go back and write another record. Go back in the studio and do the whole cycle again!
The Pretty Reckless' new album 'Going To Hell' is out now.
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