“Dear God” by The Pretty Reckless is an accessible rock record that places its emphasis firmly on Taylor Momsen’s vocals, memorable choruses and effective songwriting rather than technical complexity. From its opening moments, the album establishes a polished, straightforward sound, with rock-oriented riffs, prominent grooves and arrangements that frequently build toward their biggest moments. The band’s ability to create anticipation before a chorus is arguably the record’s greatest strength. Many of its strongest sections are preceded by a gradual buildup that gives the eventual chorus a greater sense of impact. The vocals are equally central to the album’s identity. The singer’s deep tone and natural rasp give the material a distinctive character, while occasional vocal manipulation adds further texture. The performances remain consistently strong throughout, particularly when the arrangements become heavier or more dramatic. Combined with the generally accessible songwriting, this makes much of the record very easy to listen to. The guitar work supports this approach effectively, particularly through the riffs and grooves that appear throughout the album. The intros are often among the more immediately engaging sections and the arrangements become somewhat more differentiated as the record progresses. There is unfortunately only one clearly defined standalone guitar solo. It is not particularly complex, but it is given enough space to let the guitar properly take the spotlight. Elsewhere, lead guitar parts occasionally sit behind the vocals, but they rarely receive enough room to fully develop. For my personal taste, more prominent and intricate lead guitar work would have added another dimension to the record. This also connects to the album’s main songwriting limitation, repetition. Individual tracks often find an effective idea and return to it repeatedly, sometimes to the point where its impact begins to diminish. Interestingly, the songs themselves maintain a relatively smooth flow from one to another, so the album does not feel disjointed. The problem instead comes from how frequently similar patterns and ideas are reused within and across the tracks. The consistency gives the record a cohesive identity, but also limits its musical differentiation. This becomes increasingly noticeable during the latter portion of the album. After a strong first stretch, the energy gradually drops and several tracks feel more subdued and repetitive. Some shorter transitional pieces feel as though they are building toward something that never arrives, while the increasingly familiar songwriting patterns make the closing section feel longer than necessary. By the final few tracks, the repetition becomes difficult to overlook and the closing track does little to provide the satisfying conclusion the album needs. Ultimately, “Dear God” has plenty of qualities that make it enjoyable. Strong vocals, catchy choruses, effective buildups, solid riffs and a generally cohesive flow. It is not an album designed to challenge its listener, either technically or compositionally and it succeeds on its own accessible terms. Nevertheless, its extended runtime and reliance on repeated ideas ultimately work against it. With a more concise tracklist and greater musical development, particularly in the guitar department, its strongest material could have had considerably more impact.
♦ 7,5/10
Panos Niko
