The Pretty Reckless return with their fifth studio album Dear God, with Taylor Momsen leading the band into a raw new chapter introduced by the single When I Wake Up.
by Paul Cashmere
American rock band The Pretty Reckless have launched the next phase of their career with the announcement of their fifth studio album Dear God, due for release on June 26, alongside the premiere of the new single When I Wake Up.
Fronted by Taylor Momsen, The Pretty Reckless have spent more than a decade carving out a rare position in modern rock, becoming one of the most successful female-fronted bands of the era. The upcoming album Dear God continues that trajectory while pushing the band into a more confessional songwriting space, drawing from deeply personal themes while maintaining the explosive guitar sound that has defined their catalogue.
The first preview of the project arrives with When I Wake Up, a high-energy track built around a punk-leaning edge and the band’s signature combination of heavy guitars and commanding vocals. Momsen describes the song as a cautionary story wrapped inside a chaotic dream.
“When I Wake Up is the story of a dream becoming a nightmare,” she said. “When a life of excess leads you on a rollercoaster that is doomed to crash but you just can’t see it. It’s a good time.”
The track follows the earlier release For I Am Death, which topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in November. The achievement gave The Pretty Reckless their fourth consecutive number one on the chart and reinforced their standing as one of the dominant rock acts of the past decade.
Formed in New York City in 2009, The Pretty Reckless began when Momsen transitioned from acting, known for roles in How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Gossip Girl, into a full-time music career. Early collaborations with producer Kato Khandwala helped shape the group’s direction and introduced Momsen to guitarist Ben Phillips, who remains a key creative partner in the band.
The group released their debut album Light Me Up in 2010, featuring breakthrough songs such as Make Me Wanna Die and Miss Nothing. Their reputation expanded significantly with the 2014 album Going To Hell, which delivered major rock radio hits including Heaven Knows and Messed Up World (F’d Up World). Both songs reached number one on rock charts, placing the band among a small group of female-fronted acts to achieve multiple chart-topping singles in the format.
Subsequent releases continued to build their profile. Who You Selling For arrived in 2016 with the chart-topping single Take Me Down, while 2021’s Death By Rock And Roll became a milestone project for the band. The title track helped them become the first female-fronted band to earn seven number one songs on the Mainstream Rock chart.
The years surrounding Death By Rock And Roll were shaped by major personal and professional challenges, including the loss of longtime collaborator Khandwala in 2018. The band channelled that grief into their songwriting, creating one of their most emotionally charged records.
Since then, The Pretty Reckless have maintained a relentless touring schedule. They joined AC/DC on the Power Up Tour, performing to large audiences across multiple continents for nearly two years. The experience placed them alongside one of rock’s most enduring stadium acts and further cemented their reputation as a formidable live band.
Outside the studio and touring cycle, Momsen has also been involved in several high-profile musical events. She performed with Soundgarden during their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and paid tribute to Mariah Carey at the MusiCares Person Of The Year gala alongside artists including Foo Fighters.
In 2025 the band also released a seasonal project, Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas, which featured a new interpretation of Where Are You Christmas?, a song originally sung by Momsen in the film How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The updated version connected two eras of her career and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs chart.
Now the focus turns to Dear God, an album described by the band as one of their most uncompromising works. The songs explore themes of faith, identity and emotional turmoil, framed through a diaristic approach to songwriting that reveals the band at their most candid.
The album will be supported by the Dear God Tour, a new world tour set to begin in North America before continuing through Europe. The run follows the band’s extensive time on the road supporting AC/DC and will mark their first global headline tour cycle since the Death By Rock And Roll era.
For The Pretty Reckless, Dear God represents both continuity and reinvention, a band deeply rooted in the traditions of hard rock yet willing to examine its own vulnerabilities as the music grows heavier and more personal.
Dear God Tracklisting
Life Evermore Pt. 2
For I Am Death
When I Wake Up
Love Me
Dragonfire
Dear God
Life Evermore Pt. 3
About You
Spell On You
Rollercoaster Of Life
Eye Of The Storm
Devil In Disguise (Michelle’s Song)
Dark Days
Life Evermore Pt. 1
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