Ever wonder what it’d be like to see life through the eyes of Pretty Reckless vocalist-guitarist Taylor Momsen, just to see how the other side lives? Well, don’t say she didn’t warn you — the rocker has revealed a touch of wildness through an “over the line,” orgiastic music video supporting the band’s new Dear God single, “When I Wake Up.”
As previously reported, the song first hit streamers last week, and the chunky, punky blast was detailed by Momsen as channeling “a life of excess,” and an impending crash-out.
The new music video taps into that chaotic excess up-front, with POV-styled shots of Momsen hitting liquored-up morning coffees on her way to the local bar. The vid finds her and an assortment of friends — including Foo Fighters’ Pat Smear, Momsen’s old Gossip Girl co-stars Jessica Szohr and Connor Paolo, and more — playing foosball, taking wild limo rides, hitting rails at the bar, attending bacchanalian pool parties, enjoying old school Hollywood buffets, and hooking up in elevators.
Considering this ultimately leads to Momsen capping the video unglamorously half-passed out on the toilet (“When I wake up, I don’t know where I was last night”), there’s a cautionary element within all this.
“l 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 said in a statement, adding of the clip she co-directed with Chris Acosta, “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.”
There’s a whole lot of grinding going on, and the substances are flying fast and free, so we’re going to give this one an NSFW warning for you. All the same, you can let the “When I Wake Up” jolt you to attention via the player above.
As previously reported, Dear God follows the Pretty Reckless’ 2021 album Death by Rock and Roll, and it sees release June 26th via Fearless Records. An exclusive, limited-edition vinyl pressing of the album on “Tan Smoke”-tinted wax is currently available for pre-order in Revolver’s shop.