‘It’s not a concept record, unless you consider life a concept,’ she tells MTV News of yet-untitled LP. By James Montgomery Taylor Momsen Photo: MTV News EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Taylor Momsen is quickly learning that making the transition from TV star to snarling rock princess isn’t as easy as she’d imagined. In addition to having to win over fickle audiences on this summer’s Warped Tour — the type of crowds that don’t exactly take kindly to “actor-slash-musicians” — and make it clear to “Gossip Girl” fans that her band, the Pretty Reckless, isn’t just another cookie-cutter pop project, she’s already having to undo the damage from a quote she gave last month to Entertainment Weekly, in which she stated: “I don’t wanna be Courtney Love — I wanna be Kurt Cobain.” It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing, to be honest. So really, at this point, all she wants to do is get the Pretty Reckless’ debut album in stores — and then, well, she’ll just let the chips fall where they may. “I want the record out so people can hear it. I’m not a pop artist. It’s absolutely a rock record, and I get that people probably aren’t expecting that, but, buy the record and check it out,” Momsen told MTV News on Saturday at the Bamboozle festival. “If you like loud music, you’ll like it. Hopefully. It’s very loud. If you’re not scared of guitars screaming at you and a 16-year-old girl yelling at you, then you’ll like the record.” According to Momsen, the yet-untitled album (which she co-wrote with Pretty Reckless guitarist Ben Phillips) will finally see the light of day “sometime this summer.” And, to be quite honest, that date can’t come soon enough — because she really wants to stop talking about what it will sound like and let the songs speak for themselves. “It’s a record about life. It focuses on all the negatives — and the positives — of life, but it’s not ‘Go to a club and dance.’ It’s not an escape record,” she said. “It’s absolutely a record to confront your problems and get over them. … It’s death, love, rock and roll, sex, drugs and religion; it covers all bases of life. It’s not a concept record, unless you consider life a concept.” Momsen said some of her favorite tracks on the album include “Century Gone,” “My Medicine,” “Light Me Up” and “Since You’re Gone,” not to mention the first single, “Make Me Wanna Die” (which was released on the “Kick-Ass” soundtrack). The Reckless have even shot a video for the song, directed by Meiert Avis, who’s worked with everyone from U2 to Paramore. And according to Momsen, it’s a pretty, uh, “cheery” affair. “It’s for the song ‘Make Me Wanna Die,’ so to try and emulate kind of an epic-y song that’s almost like a film, it was a challenge to come up with a treatment,” she said. “So I guess we sort of decided to make it like a death march. You can’t live anymore in this world, and you’re on your way to your death, and you’re seeing everything you’re passing, and stripping yourself of your belongings on your way to your grave.” Momsen said the video will be released before the Reckless hit the road on the Warped Tour, which kicks off June 25 in Carson, California. And, yes, she’s looking forward to facing the crowds — and changing them from cynics into believers. If she doesn’t pass out from the heat, that is. “I’ll remember not to wear a leather jacket onstage next time,” she laughed. “I learned that today [at the Bamboozle], because it was so hot that I almost puked onstage.” Are you excited to hear the Pretty Reckless album? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Taylor Momsen
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Taylor Momsen Says Pretty Reckless Album Is ‘Sex, Drugs And Religion’
