After the septuagenarian 'Steve Hackett' and in another style, it is the 'Pretenders' still led by the legendary singer 'Chrissie Hynde' who are releasing a new album, 'Relentless', showing that there are those for whom music keeps !! And to tell you the truth, this new opus is not at all reheated like some people are used to doing with one or two new titles: no, after 'Hate for Sale', these are 12 new original compositions and the tone is set with 'Losing My Sense Of Taste' which, for all those who knew the beginnings of the group, can only take a trip back in time when hearing the so characteristic singing of the American. What follows alternates different atmospheres with melodies that are immediately grafted into your head: among the catchy titles with these guitar riffs characteristic of the group, we can cite the mid-tempo 'A Love' (see video above), the radiant 'Let The Sun Come In' or the energetic 'Vainglorious' with the rhythm of 'Middle Of The Road'. But the majority of the compositions are calmer and merge acoustic and electric while also showing all the talent for this style of songs: 'Domestic Silence' with its slow tempo flirts with languorous blues, 'The Copa' is a beautiful, light and exotic acoustic ballad , 'The Promise Of Love', 'Your House Is On Fire' and 'Just Let It Go' make us relive the most beautiful ballads of the 'Pretenders' with this beautiful emotion in the singing of 'Chrissie Hynde', the slow 'Merry Widow' with its strong rhythm accelerates the tempo at the end of the track with some Arabic riffs, 'Look Away' is a very endearing acoustic refrain and, to magnificently close this album, 'I Think About You Daily' (see the video here) is the ballad par excellence which transports us cozy on a little cloud listening to the moving vocals of 'Chrissie Hynde', the string arrangements adding a beautiful melancholy to this title.
In summary, this 'Relentless' shows that after more than 45 years the 'Prentenders' are still there to offer us sumptuous albums and that, even if the ballads take up a little more space (which is not 'is not to displease me), 'Chrissie Hynde' continues to delight us with this sublime voice recognizable among thousands from the first bars... | |
