Taylor Momsen Spirals In The Pretty Reckless’ ‘When I Wake Up’ Video

The Pretty Reckless have dropped the official video for ‘When I Wake Up’, and it’s not exactly subtle.

The Taylor Momsen fronted band lean hard into excess, dragging viewers through a blurred, hungover haze of late nights and worse decisions as the Dear God era kicks into gear, shot in a raw, POV style, the clip throws you straight into Momsen’s orbit.

Morning starts with liquor laced coffee before spiralling into bar crawls, limo rides and chaotic house parties that feel equal parts glamorous and suffocating. Familiar faces drift in and out of frame too, including Foo Fighters’ Pat Smear and former Gossip Girl co-stars Jessica Szohr and Connor Paolo, adding to the sense that this is a world constantly teetering on the edge.

The Pretty Reckless ‘When I Wake Up’ video

The song itself already hinted at this direction, it’s a gritty, punchy cut that leans into the band’s darker instincts, but the video takes that idea and pushes it further. What starts as indulgence quickly curdles into something uglier, culminating in Momsen slumped and disconnected, echoing the track’s core line: ‘When I wake up, I don’t know where I was last night’.

Momsen and co-director Chris Acosta deliberately strip things back to feel unfiltered and uncomfortable, “I wanted the video to reflect where the song came from – a time in my life when I was out of control, not caring whether I lived or died,” Momsen explained (per press release).

“We shot it raw, with no grade, no filter. Reality doesn’t come color-corrected, and I didn’t want to change what we captured. The imperfection is the grade.

“This is where life can take you when you play too close to the edge, chasing substances, sex and dopamine highs to escape depression…It led me down a rabbit hole of self-destruction that leaves you emptier than where you began…

“With all that being said… enjoy.”

Dear God lands June 26th via Fearless Records, marking The Pretty Reckless’s first full length since 2021’s Death by Rock and Roll.

The Pretty Reckless ‘DEAR GOD‘ Tracklisting:

01. Life Evermore Pt. 2
02. For I Am Death
03. When I Wake Up
04. Love Me
05. Dragonfire
06. Dear God
07. Life Evermore Pt. 3
08. About You
09. Spell On You
10. Rollercoaster of Life
11. Eye of the Storm
12. Devil in Disguise (Michelle’s Song)
13. Dark Days
14. Life Evermore Pt. 1

Find out more and pre order here.

It’s messy, uncomfortable and very much the point, underneath the debauchery, there’s a clear warning. This isn’t rockstar fantasy, it’s what happens when the high wears off.

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