THE PRETTY RECKLESS's TAYLOR MOMSEN: 'I Make Music And Write Songs For Me'

In a new interview with the JJO Discover New Music Podcast, THE PRETTY RECKLESS frontwoman Taylor Momsen spoke about the band's fifth studio album, "Dear God", which was released last month via Fearless Records. Speaking about her mindset while working on material for the LP, Taylor said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've never made music for the label. We've been on indie labels, and we always have done it our own way. I think the reality is I'm just older, and I've lived a lot of life at this point, and I've kind of come into my own in a way where I'm accepting of all aspects of my life. And all of that is something to draw upon when writing. And there's no closed doors. There's nothing hidden, and I think that there's an exposure to this record of me and my life that is so pure and honest that I think it's very freeing feeling to me."

Taylor went on to say that tapping into "a more honest, more raw version" of herself and her band on "Dear God" "came really naturally, and I think that that's why it's so special. It wasn't something that I calculatedly turned on or off. This record is very much almost... It's ripped almost directly from my diary. So there's an uncensored-ness to it, which I had to kind of look at — I never thought of it until, like, the day before it came out, and then I went, 'Ah, this is quite exposing. But all right. We're in it. Here we go.' 'Cause I make music and write songs for me. It's been this tool and this thing that I've done my whole life that allows me to kind of process my life and who I am and how I see the world and see myself and all those things. And I think just the more life I've lived, the more there is to pull from, the more there is to say."

Momsen also talked about the decision to once again produce "Dear God" herself with Jonathan Wyman and THE PRETTY RECKLESS guitarist Ben Phillips. She said: "Well, I think we've always done that. We have a very tight-knit unit in THE PRETTY RECKLESS world. And the first few albums were all done with [late THE PRETTY RECKLESS producer] Kato [Khandwala]. And he was essentially the fifth member of the band; he just didn't tour with us. And then we lost him, and [2021's] 'Death By Rock And Roll' was the first record after that loss. And so we had to kind of figure out how to do this without him. And luckily, I knew one other guy. I had a very good friend named Jonathan Wyman, who's a fantastic engineer. And we called him up, and collectively, me, Ben and Jon produced 'Death By Rock And Roll'. And we've always come from the ethic of THE BEATLES in the way that I wanna build upon what we did last time with the person we worked with previously because we want our George Martin. We want the producer to be a part of what we're doing because it's part of the evolution. I'm not looking to producer hop and have them insert their sound into our band. We know what we wanna sound like. The songs dictate what the songs should sound like. So it's just simply about trying to get into a room and have what I hear in my head come out the other end of the speakers so everyone else can too. And so collectively, that's — I think we accomplish that by a lot of hard work. But it works. It's a good team. So why change something if you don't need to?"

This past April, the band released the single "Love Me", which was charged with intensity, grit and edge, while previous single "When I Wake Up" entered at No. 10 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart, while the album's lead single, "For I Am Death", became THE PRETTY RECKLESS's eighth Mainstream Rock Radio No. 1.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS is bringing its stage performance to fans across the world with the all-new headlining "Dear God" tour. This trek follows THE PRETTY RECKLESS's two-year-long run of shows the globe alongside AC/DC on the "Power Up" tour.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS performed at the prestigious 2026 MusiCares Person Of The Year Gala, where Taylor honored the legendary Mariah Carey alongside the FOO FIGHTERS, and played at the 2025 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame where Taylor performed with SOUNDGARDEN for their induction. Additionally, the band released their holiday EP "Taylor Momsen's Pretty Reckless Christmas", which features the revamped "Where Are You Christmas?" — the lead single hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs chart.

Since THE PRETTY RECKLESS's debut "Light Me Up", they've earned global acclaim with hits including "Heaven Knows" and made history as the first female-fronted band to score eight No. 1 singles on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.