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On her twelfth album with the Pretenders—truly her band, as not even drummer Martin Chambers returns for this one—Chrissie Hynde is aware of her age but not necessarily feeling it. There are no idle hands or thoughts of retirement on "Let the Sun Come," with its Peter Buck-sounding guitar. "We don't have to get fat, we don't have to get old/ We don't have information that we have to withhold … we don't have to fade to black/ Let the sun come in," the 71-year-old legend sings. But that's not to say she's stayed in the same place. The production is crunchier, darker than the Windex-clear sounds on the band's early now-classics like "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Brass in Pocket," and Hynde is, as she has been for the past decade or so, in a balladeer mood. She sounds like a chanteuse on the torch-song burn of "The Promise of Love," occasionally breaking through the smoke to soar light and aloft. On "The Copa," her voice tracks an ancient-sounding Renaissance melody against lovely guitar noodling. She's not afraid to look back, but it's rarely with nostalgia. "I Think About You Daily"—featuring a lovely string arrangement by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood—finds Hynde slightly trembling with emotion as she offers an apology to someone she hurt in the past. There are no such regrets on "Just Let It Go," seemingly about refusing to get comfortable or meet expectations. "What kind of career means a life in a cage?/ One day I could hear a distant bell toll ... I let it go/ maybe it's best to just let it go/ The changes were fast but the torment was slow," she sings, low and hazy on the verses as wailing guitar sounds like a cry for mercy, then flying on the chorus and supported by drums rumbling like release. "A Love" slightly echoes the energy of oldie "Kid" as Hynde plays it cautious in romance: "I'm not scared of your dark eyes/ They mesmerize and soothe/ But I don't mess with burning coal/ Or anything I can't control … I'm not scared of you/ I'm scared of what could be/ Like certain drugs/ One taste and then you're never free." Meanwhile, on "Merry Widow," she rides a gnarled melody to gleefully claim independence, declaring, "He thought love was competitive like sport ... so I left him at the port / I'm a divorcee, but I feel like a widow, a merry, merry widow." The music is a little bit mystery, a little doom-rock shadow and takes a snaking tarantella turn at the end. There are two real rockers here—"Losing My Sense of Taste" and garage banger "Vainglorious"—and Hynde sounds fantastic on both, especially as she delights in repeating the latter's title over and over, trying on different inflections and emotions like personalities. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz
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Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Guitar, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - James Walbourne, Composer, Electric Guitar, Bass, Mellotron - Matt Colton, Masterer - Carwyn Ellis, Acoustic Guitar - Kris Sonne, Drums, Tambourine - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Electric Guitar, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - James Walbourne, Composer, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Matt Colton, Masterer - Kris Sonne, Drums - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - James Walbourne, Composer, Guitar, Backing Vocals - Matt Colton, Masterer - Carwyn Ellis, Organ - Chris Hill, Bass - Kris Sonne, Drums - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer, Percussion - James Walbourne, Composer, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals - Matt Colton, Masterer - Carwyn Ellis, Acoustic Guitar - Chris Hill, Bass - Kris Sonne, Drums, Backing Vocals - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Percussion, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer, Percussion - James Walbourne, Composer, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals, Mellotron - Matt Colton, Masterer - Chris Hill, Bass - Kris Sonne, Drums, Percussion - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Vocals, Backing Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - James Walbourne, Composer, Electric Guitar - Matt Colton, Masterer - Carwyn Ellis, Organ, Synthesizer, Mellotron - Chris Hill, Bass - Kris Sonne, Drums, Tambourine - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Electric Guitar, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer, Backing Vocals - James Walbourne, Composer, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals - Matt Colton, Masterer - Kris Sonne, Drums - Dave Page, Bass - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - James Walbourne, Composer, Guitar - Matt Colton, Masterer - Carwyn Ellis, Guitar - Chris Hill, Upright Bass - Kris Sonne, Drums - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer, Synthesizer, Moog - James Walbourne, Composer, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass, Synthesizer, E-bow Guitar, Mellotron, Rhodes Piano - Matt Colton, Masterer - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Vocals, Backing Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - James Walbourne, Composer, Electric Guitar, Bass, Mellotron - Matt Colton, Masterer - Carwyn Ellis, Acoustic Guitar - Kris Sonne, Drums, Tambourine - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Guitar, Vocals, Backing Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - James Walbourne, Composer, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals, Bass - Matt Colton, Masterer - Kris Sonne, Drums - Dave Page, Bass - Grace Banks, Engineer - Ed Farrell, AssistantEngineer - Jamie Sprosen, AssistantEngineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde, Composer, Vocals - Pretenders, MainArtist - David Wrench, Producer, Mixer - Jonny Greenwood, Strings Arranger - Graeme Stewart, String Recording Engineer - James Walbourne, Composer, Piano - Matt Colton, Masterer - 12 Ensemble, Strings - Ed Farrell, ProductionAssistant - Jamie Sprosen, ProductionAssistant - Omri Katan, Assistant Strings Engineer
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
Album review
On her twelfth album with the Pretenders—truly her band, as not even drummer Martin Chambers returns for this one—Chrissie Hynde is aware of her age but not necessarily feeling it. There are no idle hands or thoughts of retirement on "Let the Sun Come," with its Peter Buck-sounding guitar. "We don't have to get fat, we don't have to get old/ We don't have information that we have to withhold … we don't have to fade to black/ Let the sun come in," the 71-year-old legend sings. But that's not to say she's stayed in the same place. The production is crunchier, darker than the Windex-clear sounds on the band's early now-classics like "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Brass in Pocket," and Hynde is, as she has been for the past decade or so, in a balladeer mood. She sounds like a chanteuse on the torch-song burn of "The Promise of Love," occasionally breaking through the smoke to soar light and aloft. On "The Copa," her voice tracks an ancient-sounding Renaissance melody against lovely guitar noodling. She's not afraid to look back, but it's rarely with nostalgia. "I Think About You Daily"—featuring a lovely string arrangement by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood—finds Hynde slightly trembling with emotion as she offers an apology to someone she hurt in the past. There are no such regrets on "Just Let It Go," seemingly about refusing to get comfortable or meet expectations. "What kind of career means a life in a cage?/ One day I could hear a distant bell toll ... I let it go/ maybe it's best to just let it go/ The changes were fast but the torment was slow," she sings, low and hazy on the verses as wailing guitar sounds like a cry for mercy, then flying on the chorus and supported by drums rumbling like release. "A Love" slightly echoes the energy of oldie "Kid" as Hynde plays it cautious in romance: "I'm not scared of your dark eyes/ They mesmerize and soothe/ But I don't mess with burning coal/ Or anything I can't control … I'm not scared of you/ I'm scared of what could be/ Like certain drugs/ One taste and then you're never free." Meanwhile, on "Merry Widow," she rides a gnarled melody to gleefully claim independence, declaring, "He thought love was competitive like sport ... so I left him at the port / I'm a divorcee, but I feel like a widow, a merry, merry widow." The music is a little bit mystery, a little doom-rock shadow and takes a snaking tarantella turn at the end. There are two real rockers here—"Losing My Sense of Taste" and garage banger "Vainglorious"—and Hynde sounds fantastic on both, especially as she delights in repeating the latter's title over and over, trying on different inflections and emotions like personalities. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:48:59
- Main artists: The Pretenders
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Parlophone UK
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, © 2023 Chrissie Hynde Under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Limited, ℗ 2023 Chrissie Hynde
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