Pretenders

Twenty years on, the Pretenders' sound hasn't dated. Amid the New Wave tangle of 1979,
the Pretenders shined like some mutant jewel, sui generis pop veiling unfashionable
romanticism, glossed by Chrissie Hynde's nerve and that extraordinary voice, with its
tremulous sustains and surprising phrasing, equal parts sass and sob. On this latest effort,
Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers keep that sound alive. íViva El Amor! is pro... More >

Pretenders songs post-Learning To Crawl emulated the concision and riff-riding lyricism of "Brass in Pocket" while doing without the passion and focus that made it so fiercely erotic, so vivacious and f*ck-you, so independent, so special. They felt pop, felt tuneful and shaped and legibly emotional, but in the end they were atmospheric. Here Chrissie Hynde's writing is sharp again--the riffs have an edge, the lyrics bite. There's some strong Janis Joplin soul, a pretty ballad in Spanish I bet her young Colombian husband understands, a closer with the ridiculously in-character refrain "You bring the biker out in me," a line that goes "It's only baby's breath" in your head long after it's over. And the grudge she bears against the opener's "Popstar" is such a joy to her that she rides the "Hang On Sloopy" motive as if she thought of it yesterday, driving three consecutive song-doctored classics before her: one that references her circulatory system, one that advises love "From the Heart Down," and one that begins with the latest sally in the class war she'll never surrender: "If this is public transportation/What are you doing here?" (Grade - A-)