“Dear God” is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Pretty Reckless, released on June 26, 2026, via Fearless Records.
Following an extended hiatus after the release of Death by Rock and Roll (2021) and the compilation album Other Worlds (2022), frontwoman Taylor Momsen and her band returned with a conceptually driven record that is both deeply spiritual and defiantly rebellious. The album revolves around existential reflection, conversations with a higher power, the search for forgiveness, and an exploration of the darker side of the human soul.
While the core of the album remains the band’s signature blend of hard rock and blues rock, “Dear God” is their most stylistically diverse release to date. Music critics have noted the band’s bold incorporation of punk, garage rock, funk, and acoustic folk into its sound.
Producers: Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips, and Jonathan Wyman.
Taylor Momsen has repeatedly emphasized that, while writing the album, she completely abandoned fictional personas and narrative characters. Instead, the songs draw directly from deeply personal experiences, exploring themes such as depression, grief, substance abuse, and the search for redemption.
“‘Dear God’ is the most honest record we’ve ever made. Every song came from a real experience, whether I wanted to admit it or not. This time there was nowhere to hide behind characters or concepts. It’s all here… the doubts, the anger, the hope, the questions.” — Taylor Momsen, from the album’s press release.
The album also features an unconventional structure for a traditional hard rock record. It opens with “Life Evermore Pt. 2,” immediately immersing listeners in the feeling that the story is already unfolding, echoing the theatrical nature of classic rock operas. The interludes are deliberately placed out of chronological order, serving as thematic signposts that guide the listener through chaos toward the closing track and Momsen’s final spoken message in “Life Evermore Pt. 1.”
The influence of classic 1970s rock—particularly the atmosphere of Fleetwood Mac—becomes increasingly apparent toward the latter half of the album, where the music settles into deeper grooves and a more restrained, introspective pace.
“Dear God” stands as The Pretty Reckless’ most emotionally vulnerable, darkest, and most genre-diverse album to date, blending the band’s signature gritty hard rock and blues rock with Taylor Momsen’s deeply personal reflections and a cinematic conceptual framework.