ALBUM REVIEW: DEAR GOD BY THE PRETTY RECKLESS
Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Release date 26 June 2026
Do you like albums full of in-depth lyrics with added religious imagery and discussion points? I do! I really do and The Pretty Reckless has delivered it in spades on their new album ‘Dear God’. This album has 14 songs that use Christian imagery and symbolism to make the point. Those points about the “road to hell” are brutally insightful, honest and vulnerable with a warts-and-all depiction of where life in the fast lane can push you. Taylor Momsen serves up songs about the existential dread we are living through as she soundtracks the “times” we are living in.
The “rollercoaster of life” or “death” starts with a 43 second acoustic and voice introduction called ‘Life Evermore Part 2’ which is odd because this refrain is out of order. The situation is that “the cancer has grown” and “It spread to the suburbs”. It’s about lamenting a “life” and a life force that is becoming extinct through corrosive ideologies. These ‘Life Evermore’ come in three small refrains that connect the album thematically in terms of regret, reflection and looking forward to some sort of “end times” future where death is the end game.
Then, the opening song complete with spiky and clinical chugging guitars and drum kicks, brings in ‘For I Am Death’. The personification of death is brilliant and Taylor Momsen’s vocals are chilling. As death won’t break as “at the back of your mind” you can “feel the needles” in your “bones” as your “time comes”. Death says “it was nice to know you”. It’s fantastic! And, the musical soundscape suits that dark humour. Then, the caustic pop-punk grooves of ‘When I Wake Up’ is a real bop. The song writing sentiment is very raw and real, a reminder that excess and access isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: “I’m doing fine killing time/ When I wake up, I don’t know where I was last night”. Oops!
The following song ‘Love Me’ is an acoustic guitar slow jam and a painstaking account of what it means to feel completely alone inside and out. The honesty is brutal and insightful and the hurt that comes part and parcel with the song is evident in Taylor Momsen’s expression as she croons for an answer in “a prayer”. ‘Dragonfire’ is an acoustic folk song with that Spanish guitar flavour that has a 1960s rock hallucinogenic vision thing going on with “maidens and towers” as those big drums and rhythm and blues kick in with an added shredding guitar solo. Then, ‘Dear God’ follows and it leans into dark, cinematic, and rhythm and blues-inspired hard rock. The song is driven by imminent, dark arpeggiated guitars that build gradually into a massive, cathartic emotional vocal release about wanting to “stay in Heaven”.
Then, the end of “Life Evermore Part 3’’ breaks up the next chapter of songs. ‘About You’ is a rage filled song and Taylor Momsen’s rock voice is magnificent. Her blues-rock swagger boasts that she’s all in on being a heavy rocker and storyteller, able to use her vocals to fit the mood of the next few songs. She demonstrates this on the idea of the inner-witch, with its anti-Christian vision, on the licentious and synth-groovy ‘Spell On You’. The wonderful 1969 rock vibe of ‘Rollercoaster Of Life’ and it’s a more positive joyful song about the benefits of “going slow” and avoiding the life sucking “vampires on the beach”.
The acoustic guitar underpins ‘Eye Of The Storm’ and the lyrics probe the dystopian nightmare we are walking into with our eyes open. As the song says “everything has gone to hell” and I think everyone is there. Then, ‘Devil In Disguise’ (Michelle’s Song) with its insistent acoustic guitar melody is a lament for seeing the world as it is: was it “Jesus or the devil in disguise” – it begs the question about perspective and knowing what is true. The song ‘Dark Days’ is an ode to modern times wrapped in a soft 1970s rock style as “the angels fall”. Taylor Momsen is addressing the US preoccupation with “end times” that the US Government seems intent on pursuing. Then, the last acoustic refrain ‘Life Evermore Part 1’ where the lament is “I don’t want to be/Thrilled or surprised by/Life anymore” and there are many of us who have reached that point.
“Is there something wrong with me” she asks on this album ‘Dear God’. The answer is: No. Let The Pretty Reckless “Put a spell on you” with the songs on this album. It is a wonderful antidote to the times!
