Musical Moments #6

Pseudo-promised more EP reviews, thus...



The Pretty Reckless - Hit Me Like a Man EP

First off, I will not review the live tracks. I tend to be of the opinion that they fail to capture relevant elements of a concert experience.
That said, the live tracks are recorded and mixed better than most I've heard. That may not be saying much, since I rarely listen to them, but it seems fair to mention it.

Again, in no particular order.

1. Hit Me Like a Man - If the title hasn't gotten your attention, the song will. It has that jazzy groove I've come to expect from the 'harder' songs this band writes. Some really excellent lyric work here too, "It's a version of perversion that is only for the lucky people." I dig the drums in this song - subtle when they need to be, but never boring. The guitar and bass work is a nice support structure, but this is very much a lyric-driven track.

The bridge is a bit of a departure, a little softer reprieve, but I find it fits the tone of the song quite well. A bit like the interrupted thoughts I enjoy using in my writing - you know, these things.

2.  Cold Blooded - This duet opens a bit like a hymn, poetically enough. "You can't trust a cold-blooded lover." When I say duet, I mean duet. While I listen to this band for the female lead, the male singer isn't half-bad either. I really, really dig the harmonies in these lyric lines. Again, the song is very lyric-driven. If I were going to compare it to anything, I'd call it a rock hymn. I hope that isn't too conceptually difficult.

The guitar work is featured here, and it doesn't disappoint. It isn't John Petrucci or Steve Vai, but for this bit of rock it fits very smoothly over the groove and I find the solo couldn't fit much better than it does.

We end with a nice instrumental outro, again featuring the guitar and the keyboard - I especially like the interplay between the two. Very, very jazz-rock and awesome.

3. Under the Water -  This is probably the least "groovy" song on the EP, and that isn't a bad thing. It presents a nice bit of variety in the mix that we haven't heard yet. Compared to some of their previous work, it reminds me of Just Tonight. It does hold a bit of a dark feel to it, "don't let the water drag you down." The lyrics are particularly well-suited to the instrumentation, and I love the background strings. But then, I am a sucker for strings in a rock setting.

If you haven't gathered that most of their songs are very lyrically driven, I'll go ahead and say it explicitly. Her singing in this track is extremely impressive, and includes some rare screaming bits that exploit the rough edge her voice has - an edge that I've mentioned before as one of my sought-after elements in a female singer, so you can imagine why this track is my favorite on the album.

Background vocals are fun, and not as overdone as some bands...granted, they aren't quite my thing, but the harmonies they set up are fun.

That'll do it for this Moment. If you haven't heard this group yet...go do it.

- C