The Moshville Times - Gig Review: The Pretty Reckless / The Cruel Knives – O2 Academy, Birmingham (30th October 2022)

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost two years since The Pretty Reckless released Death By Rock and Roll. Yet here we are, the quartet finally touring the UK in support of the album, barring a Download appearance, but there’s a sense in Birmingham’s O2 Academy that the album isn’t quite as old as that.

Given the long queue into the venue, by the time The Cruel Knives take to the stage to an already borderline-capacity room, they’ve got a captive audience. Having played with The Pretty Reckless before under both this name and their previous incarnation, Heaven’s Basement (their slot supporting The Pretty Reckless across town at the Institute would become my final time seeing them), the chatter from both bands throughout the night thanking each other is more genuine than on most tours. Whilst not being overly enamoured with them when seeing them before, they do the job required of them – warming up the crowd.

Where their then-newfound sound as they formed from the ashes of Heaven’s Basement was current, in 2022, it feels dated. Regardless, they’re ridiculously tight, born mainly from Sid Glover (guitar) and Rob Ellershaw (bass) having played together for over a decade. The rambunctious and gritty altrock makes for an energetic set and whilst there’s a touch of restlessness in the crowd by the time they leave, they save the best for last in “Crawl”. The crunching guitars have more than a hint of Heaven’s Basement within but fashioned into what The Cruel Knives aim for. The polite applause turns to enthusiasm and whilst they may not have won over a legion of new fans tonight, they can leave with their heads held high on giving a faultless performance.

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Pretty much right on cue, The Pretty Reckless take to the stage to a crowd in a fervour. Unsurprisingly kicking off with the title and opening track of the album, “Death By Rock and Roll” has the crowd enraptured with its signature sound as its melody rollercoasters between bombast and grunge-tinged runs. And other than “Since You’re Gone”, the opening numbers all come from their most recent album. Surprisingly, two of their most recognisable tracks, from their debut album, “Make Me Wanna Die” and “Miss Nothing” put in an early appearance to keep the crowd on their toes and it’s here where they respond best.

However, it’s on the newer tracks where the band let loose, finally having the chance to play them in front of real-life audiences. As Momsen joins in occasionally on guitar, letting Ben Phillips ably do most of the heavy lifting on his own. Indeed, he’s a proficient guitarist and on his extended solo on “Heaven Knows”, he knows how to work a crowd and show his chops to their fullest extent. On the other hand, The Pretty Reckless aren’t quite the band suited to an extended solo in the middle of the set and whilst one of the more enjoyable ones to watch, it feels out of place.

Similarly, it happens again during the encore of “Fucked Up World”. The already up-tempo poppy number is sped up even further, sounding frantic. But then, just as everything’s going so well, a drum solo comes out of nowhere and kills the momentum flat and like every drum solo ever, is unwelcome. That aside, from start to finish, the band put on an incredibly slick performance, as tight as they’ve ever been whilst rolling out most of the favourites from each of their albums. Whilst they do tone it down with a couple of slower songs, there was definitely scope in the set to go full ballad with “You” or “Got So High” and it likely would have went down well.

Lyrically, Death By Rock and Roll may have sounded immature and schmaltzy in places but sonically, it was about them going back to the well of the first two albums. Indeed, in the live setting, those songs shine as brightly as those old favourites and slot in effortlessly. The Pretty Reckless show they’re still a solid live act and their time away for a myriad of reasons has served them well.

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Pics by Kate Frost Photography