Rock Album Review—“Dear God” by the Pretty Reckless

Pretty Reckless—Dear God 

(Fearless Records)

If 2021’s Death by Rock and Roll was an unsparing self-portrait of Pretty Reckless singer-lyricist Taylor Momsen’s descent into depression and drug abuse after the shocking deaths of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and the band’s producer Kato Khandwala less than a year apart, the band’s new album, Dear God, is another musically diverse and emotionally varied group of songs that deal honestly with the consequences of a life lived in excess.

Although recorded in spurts over the past couple years in between world stadium tours as an opening act for AC/DC, Dear God sounds remarkably cohesive. From the slashing chords of “For I Am Death”—one of the band’s most potent slabs of devilish mayhem—to the mournfully hymnal conclusion, “Dark Days,” this powerful exploration of self-abuse, self-denial and self-discovery
explodes from the speakers.

Momsen, who sings and writes the songs with lead guitarist Ben Phillips—who plays in superb lockstep with bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins—has said that the Beatles and Soundgarden are her favorite artists of all time, and the Pretty Reckless’ now-patented blend of grunge influence, heavy-rock riffs and Beatlesque melody, coupled with Momsen’s confessional lyrics and commanding vocal ability, is on display throughout Dear God. 

The irresistible punk-pop sizzle of “When I Wake Up” and the exquisitely soulful prayer “Love Me” give way to the killer Fleetwood Mac-meets-Heart cut “Dragonfire,” which chugs along on Perkins’ propulsive drumming. Then there’s the epic, six-minute title track, a glorious Momsen vocal workout on what she has called desperation set to music; the subtle arrangement, with each verse giving way more quickly to the anguished chorus, underlines that torment brilliantly.

“About You” blisteringly describes an acrimonious breakup, while the seductive “Spell on You” nods back to Death by Rock and Roll’s incendiary “Witches Burn” to defiantly get revenge on a faithless partner. In the stirring “Eye of the Storm,” Momsen opens with a snapshot of universal despair (“Everything has gone to hell/While the rich get rich/And the poor get, well/Nothing at all, it seems to me”) before movingly tackling her own brush with mortality:

Tell the band I’m doing fine

Even though I

Almost died

But I’m still alive, alive, alive

Momsen sings those lines with a quiet poignancy that’s turns into stark defiance. It’s no coincidence that “Devil in Disguise”—a lovely eulogy to actress Michelle Trachtenberg, one of Momsen’s best friends, who died last year at age 39—follows, covering similar emotional territory with equal intimacy. 

Momsen has said that the lyrics for Dear God came from her journal, and it’s true that there are guileless lines like the chorus for “Rollercoaster of Life”: 

The rollercoaster of life is so nice

If you do it well, you can go through it twice

But the song itself is so infectious—and includes a wonderful Easter egg of sorts during the funky middle section, as Momsen sings about “that chili pepper heat” and Mark Damon slyly plays a Flea-inspired bass line—that all is forgiven. Dear God is as candid, aggressive and raw as its predecessor, no mean feat in today’s assembly-line pop and rock world.

December '25 Digital Week I

CD Release of the Week 

Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas 

(Fearless)

Sure, it’s a calculated move, but why not? Taylor Momsen—lead singer of one of the best rock bands around right now, the Pretty Reckless—played, at age 7, Cindy Lou Who in the annoying movie adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Jim Carrey in green prosthetics as the dastardly villain. A quarter-century later, Momsen returns to full-throatedly sing “Where Are You Christmas,” which she warbled in the movie (and which Faith Hill made into a holiday perennial). 

The new version, backed by her band, rocks nicely but would have been even better if they really cranked it up. It returns at the end, slightly changed, as “Christmas, Why Can’t I Find You,” which allows the adult Momsen to cede her EP’s opening and closing voices to her younger self. The other songs are fun holiday originals: the finger-snapping “I Wanna Be Your Christmas Tree,” with its hilarious double entendres like “Stuff that turkey with your Pepperidge Farm/Cover it in gravy and all your charm”; the irresistible power pop of “Christmas Is Killing Me,” with its immortal couplet “Christmas is killing me/Someone stop Mariah Carey”; and the, well, very bluesy “Blues for Christmas,” all of which let Momsen show off her incredibly versatile voice. But now that she’s gotten Cindy Lou out of her system, here’s hoping the new year brings a new Pretty Reckless album on the order of the group’s killer recent single, “For I Am Death.”  

In-Theater Release of the Week

A Private Life 

(Sony Pictures Classics)

Jodie Foster gives an impressive performance, primarily in French, in Rebecca Zlotowski’s typically genre-bending study of a divorced analyst dealing with professional and personal crises: she has a strained relationship with her son, his wife and their young baby, while she follows up on her suspicions of a longtime patient’s supposed suicide. Always good with actors, Zlotowski follows suit here: supporting Foster’s accomplished turn are Daniel Auteil as her frisky ex, Vincent Lacoste as their chip-on-his-shoulder son, Virginie Efira as the dead patient and Mathieu Almaric as her grieving widower. But the script by Zlotowski, Anne Berest and Gaëlle Macé has characterization problems and plot holes that prevent the movie from really taking flight.

Streaming Releases of the Week 

The Best You Can 

(Sony)

Pairing real-life husband-and-wife Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick as Stan (a single father with a musician daughter, Sammi) and Cynthia (married to the much older Warren—who’s beginning to show signs of dementia) has its charms, especially in the easy rapport of the couple’s scenes together in what may or may not become an affair. Yet writer-director Michael J. Weithorn doesn’t know what to do with the rest of his sitcomish comedy-drama, so good actors like Judd Hirsch (Warren) and Brittany O’Grady (Sammi) are left adrift. 

Reflection in a Dead Diamond 

(Shudder)

The latest contraption from Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani—French husband and wife writers-directors based in Belgium—blends James Bond spoofing with bloody revenge melodrama: a retired spy, John D (played by Fabio Testi and Yannick Renier as his older and younger incarnations), remembers his youthful exploits when his fascinating new neighbor disappears. Cattet and Forzani always bring their A game to their often dazzling visuals, although they inevitably overdose on gorgeously composed shots at the expense of their tale. 

WTO/99 

(Foghorn Features)

In 1999, Seattle was the location for a meeting of the nascent World Trade Organization, which looked to negotiate new trade deals to link the world economy and generate prosperity, but strange bedfellows like unions, chambers of commerce and liberal activists declared the WTO antithetical to human rights, the environment and labor and came to protest in the tens of thousands. Director Ian Bell has painstakingly assembled a compelling and eye-opening look back at living history: that volatile moment presaging the unholy mess we find ourselves in, told exclusively through archival footage from TV news reports and amateur home videos.

Blu-ray Release of the Week

The Long Walk 

(Lionsgate)

Stephen King’s short novel about a dystopian U.S. where the eponymous event takes place, with the lone survivor winning a jackpot—an unoriginal but workable premise on the page—has been turned into an enervating film by director Francis Lawrence and writer JT Mollner, who do little with the anti-dramatic storyline of young men walking alongside soldiers who shoot anyone who falls off the pace. Flashbacks to our main protagonist Garraty’s home life with mom and dad (Judy Greer and Josh Hamilton, both wasted) and occasional closeups of blown-off heads don’t alleviate the tedium. Cooper Hoffman (Garraty) and a cast including Charlie Plummer and David Jonsson try to bring individuality to this faceless crew, but Mark Hamill’s cartoonish antagonist makes that nearly impossible. The film looks great on Blu; lone extra is a 75-minute making-of documentary.

Rock Concert Review—The Pretty Reckless at Electric City in Buffalo

The Pretty Reckless

Electric City, 433 Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY

May 6, 2025

theprettyreckless.com

Taylor Momsen of the Pretty Reckless (with guitarist Ben Phillips) at Electric City in Buffalo 

It’s pretty difficult for a rock band to succeed in a musical landscape dominated by streaming singles and assembly-line pop. Even the Pretty Reckless, led by singer-songwriter Taylor Momsen, has been the opening act on AC/DC’s worldwide 2024-25 stadium tour but hasn’t yet broken through to a larger audience.

On an off night from AC/DC, the Pretty Reckless came to Buffalo for an intimate show at Electric City (the old Tralfamadore Café for those who went to shows there in the 1980s, like I did). Opening was the female quartet Plush, whose fervid 45-minute set was highlighted by a cover of Heart’s “Barracuda,” belted out by lead singer Moriah Formica, who has a lot of Ann Wilson in her powerhouse voice. As satisfying as Plush’s straight-ahead hard rock was, it was the Pretty Reckless’ fusion of grunge, metal and Beatlesque melody—Momsen names the Beatles and Soundgarden as her two favorite artists of all time—that everyone came for, and which was on display right from the opening song, the aggressive title track from its latest album, 2021’s Death by Rock and Roll.

As solid as the Pretty Reckless’ output has been—Light Me Up, its 2010 debut, introduced the teenaged Momsen as a talented writer and singer who wore inspirations like Courtney Love, Alanis Morrissette and Fiona Apple on her sleeve; but the next two albums, 2014’s pummeling Going to Hell and 2016’s bluesy and soulful Who You Selling For, made further artistic strides—Death by Rock and Roll is the most musically diverse and emotionally varied group of songs in the band’s career so far. 

Momsen has described how the deaths of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and her band’s producer Kato Khandwala less than a year apart caused her spiral into depression and drug abuse. But the resulting Death by Rock and Roll is an unsparingly honest self-portrait that moves poignantly from denial and anger to, ultimately, acceptance. 

Momsen at Electric City

Surprisingly, in Buffalo the band only played three songs from that record—the title cut, the Soundgarden-like “Only Love Can Save Me Now” and the defiant anthem “Witches Burn.” It would have been great to hear “And So It Went” or “My Bones,” two potent slabs of post-apocalyptic mayhem, though I can see why none of the exquisitely crafted quartet of poignant songs that finish the album was played—they may be too personal, too introspective to fit into a high-energy rock show (although “Turning Gold” is a killer tune with one of Momsen’s best vocal performances).

The rest of the too-short performance (only 11 songs in 70 minutes—maybe they can’t play longer shows while still on tour with AC/DC?) was heavy on tunes from Going to Hell, including the seductive title track and lusty “Follow Me Down.” Also on display throughout was Momsen’s singular stage presence: she sings powerfully but effortlessly while stalking the stage in her combat boots, dancing and spinning to the music as gracefully as if she’s performing a ballet. 

Guitarist Ben Phillips, who writes the band’s songs with Momsen, can create big riffs and play incendiary solos but also knows when to pull back tastefully: he also gets a vocal spotlight in the unsettling duet with Momsen on the marvelously creepy “Sweet Things,” a song that underscores her remarkable facility for marrying the mundane to the macabre. Bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins’ lockstep rhythm section rounds out the excellent instrumental trio that provides the blistering backdrop for one of rock’s most charismatic and compelling singers.