The Pretty Reckless dive headfirst into chaos on “When I Wake Up”
The Pretty Reckless have shared the official video for “When I Wake Up,” a bruised and bleary new visual directed by Taylor Momsen and Chris Acosta. Pulled from the band’s forthcoming fifth album Dear God, due June 26, the clip leans hard into the song’s damaged pulse and after-hours atmosphere, playing like a first-person plunge into a night that keeps getting darker.
Shot in a raw POV style, the video follows Momsen through a messy spiral of intoxication, impulse and late-night excess. It is intentionally unpolished, with the band opting to keep the footage free of gloss or artificial sheen. That roughness suits the song: “When I Wake Up” feels built from the aftermath of bad decisions, and the video doubles down on that sense of disorientation.
WATCH THE AGE RESTRICTED MUSIC VIDEO HERE
There is also a layer of pop-cultural intrigue woven into the wreckage. The clip includes cameos from Momsen’s former Gossip Girl castmates Jessica Szohr and Connor Paolo, as well as Foo Fighters figures Pat Smear and Ilan Rubin, giving the whole thing the feel of a downtown hangout slipping into something much more unhinged.
A new era for Dear God
“When I Wake Up” is the second preview of Dear God, following “For I Am Death,” which previously hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. According to the band’s camp, the new single has already become the most added song at rock radio this week, suggesting The Pretty Reckless are heading into this album cycle with serious momentum.
The 14-track record arrives on June 26 and appears set to push deeper into the band’s taste for weighty hooks, darkness and big emotional swings. Based on what has been revealed so far, Dear God looks less like a reset than a sharpening of everything The Pretty Reckless already do best: hard-edged riffs, theatrical mood, and songs that stare directly into the abyss.
Taylor Momsen on the darkness behind the song
Momsen did not soften the song’s origins, describing “When I Wake Up” as something drawn from a period of her life marked by recklessness and depression. Her comments frame the track not as empty provocation, but as a confrontation with self-destruction and the hollow chase for escape.
That tension is what gives both the song and the video their charge. The Pretty Reckless have always known how to make pain sound massive, but “When I Wake Up” seems especially interested in the uglier details: the loss of control, the chemical blur, and the emptiness waiting at the end of the night.
2026 tour dates announced
The band have also confirmed a full Dear God headline tour for 2026, with North American dates beginning in July before the run heads across Europe and the UK in November and December.
General on sale for the DEAR GOD Tour will begin Friday, March 20 at 10am local time HERE.
North America
Fri, July 10th – The Ritz, Raleigh, NC
Fri, July 17th – Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL
Tue, July 21st – The Midland Theatre, Kansas City, MO
Thu, July 23rd – ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX
Sat, July 25th – House of Blues, Dallas, TX
Fri, July 31st – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
Sun, Aug 2nd – The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ
Fri, Aug 7th – McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
Tue, Aug 11th – The Palace Theatre, Calgary, AB, CA
Sat, Aug 15th – Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA
Fri, Aug 28th – Avondale Brewing Company, Birmingham, AL
Sat, Aug 29th – House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
Thu, Sep 3rd – Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Wed, Sep 9th – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre, Indianapolis, IN
Thu, Sep 10th – House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
Tue, Sep 22nd – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton, NH
Thu, Sep 24th – Citizens House of Blues, Boston, MA
Sat, Sep 26th – The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
EU/UK
Mon, Nov 9th – La Riviera, Madrid, ES
Tue, Nov 10th – Razzmatazz, Barcelona, ES
Sat, Nov 14th – Fabrique, Milan, IT
Mon, Nov 16th – Forum Karlín, Prague, CZ
Wed, Nov 18th – Huxleys Neue Welt, Berlin, DE
Sat, Nov 21st – Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, DE
Mon, Nov 23rd – AFAS Live, Amsterdam, NL
Tue, Nov 24th – Zénith, Paris, FR
Thu, Nov 26th – The Prospect Building, Bristol, UK
Fri, Nov 27th – Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, UK
Sun, Nov 29th – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK
Tue, Dec 1st – O2 Academy Brixton, London, UK
Thu, Dec 3rd – Barrowland, Glasgow, UK
Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, March 20 at 10am local time.
Dear God tracklist
- Life Evermore Pt. 2
- For I Am Death
- When I Wake Up
- Love Me
- Dragonfire
- Dear God
- Life Evermore Pt. 3
- About You
- Spell On You
- Rollercoaster of Life
- Eye of the Storm
- Devil in Disguise (Michelle’s Song)
- Dark Days
- Life Evermore Pt. 1
