Taylor Momsen faced a tough choice after battling depression and substance abuse. The deaths of two important people hit her hard: Chris Cornell from Soundgarden in 2017 and her producer Kato Khandwala just a year later. In a recent podcast, the frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless opened up about her struggles. “I had to make a very conscious choice at a point where I was either going to live or I was going to die,” she said. “I had to stop everything and get my life together, or it was going to kill me.” Thankfully, she chose to move forward.
Momsen described Khandwala’s death as “the nail in the coffin for me.” The grief was overwhelming, leading her deeper into substance abuse. Losing both men in such a short time broke something inside her. “It was a giant one-two punch because they were not that far apart from each other,” she explained. “I just went off the rails. I got very heavy into substance abuse and this cloud of depression that I couldn’t shake.”
Music became her lifeline. She started listening to records again, going back to where her love for music began. “Eventually, I got to a place where I could start listening to records again. I thought, ‘Where did I fall in love with this? How do I find myself again?’ So I started at the very beginning, which was The Beatles,” she shared.
The Pretty Reckless recently released a new single, “For I Am Death,” and more music is on the way. The band is set to perform at Download and Rock For People festivals in 2026. Fans can stay updated and purchase previous albums to support the band.
