From its unambiguous title to its explicit cover photo to the naughty female moaning that opens its first track, Going to Hell has all the subtlety of a Harley roaring down Sunset Boulevard: this is lighter-waving heavy rock in the spirit of Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction and Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet. Actress-turned-singer Taylor Momsen reprises her role as the band's bad-to-the-bone frontwoman. On The Pretty Reckless' sophomore album, she snarls her way through cycles of glorious sinning and fingers-crossed repenting. Sonically, the album covers a lot of ground. The swaggering guitars of "Absolution" sound like something out of modern country's playbook; "House on a Hill" looks to Nickelback with its soaring balladry; "Heaven Knows" is a call-and-response rocker that evokes Joan Jett; "Waiting for a Friend" is a plaintive acoustic tune that's almost indie rock. Yet it's the barnburners that work best, especially "Why'd You Bring a Shotgun to the Party." That's a splenetic rager that's sure to get the cops called if you play it at your next keg stand, which is surely the point. 

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