THE PRETENDERS
Loose Screw (Artemis)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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Leaving major label land for Artemis (home of Reverend Horton Heat fer instance) sounds like a good move. The Pretenders have been trapped in pap pop muck for too long. And lo and behold Chrissie Hynde kicks off the new record with the best Pretenders single in decades: "Lie To Me" has the snarly sass of the very early stuff, a thick'n'meaty hook, and gnarly guitar riffs. It also has a new sound - very important to a band clearly stuck in neutral. But just as fast as Hynde has created some excitement, she loses it. The follow up tracks revert to recent keyboard dominated meanderings, and then, there's some, gulp, reggae style ballads. Good God, woman, you were meant to rock! Maybe the inevitable chart action of the lead-off single will hammer that point home. Woof woof woof.

© 2002 - John Sekerka