So what? The question is, are they any good? Yes, they are. So who cares how it was put together? Lots of bands have corporate input and are put together this way. Toto, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, Genesis, Yes, The Monkees - all bands with significant input from their record labels, sometimes even assembled as "supergroups" by the suits in charge. Freaking Led Zeppelin was formed as a "supergroup", splicing off from The Yardbirds, and Jimmy Page was initially reluctant about choosing Robert Plant to front them - that decision was pushed on him by the studio. Steely Dan has always been two guys rotating through a who's who of studio musicians, aka "hired guns" - not exactly rebellious rock and roll types, wouldn't you agree? Making music isn't free, you know - making an album is an investment, and the record label putting up the financing has every right to have input.
I don't care how The Pretty Reckless was put together or where Taylor Momsen came from. They're a damn good band. So she used her connections to get herself a record deal - awesome! Good for her! I wish I could do that. She completely expunged herself from acting and pursued something totally different, and has met with success - awesome! Good for her! I wish I could do that. Saying that they're not "an authentic band" is silly - so they met through professional channels, so what? Lots of musicians meet that way and form "authentic bands". What does "authentic band" even mean?
I'm a guitarist in my night life, and I know first-hand how hard it is to pull off what The Pretty Reckless have pulled off. Their new album is great and doesn't sound "corporate" at all. It's full of blues and heavy guitar-based rock - not exactly the kind of material that tears up the charts in 2016. If anything, they're waving the torch for raw, old-school, hard rock and roll, music whose eventual demise seems imminent.
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