Album: “Loose Screw”

Description

The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde (vocals, guitar); Adam Seymour (guitar, background vocals); Andy Hobson (bass); Martin Chambers (drums). Additional personnel includes: The Duke Quartet (strings); Kevin Bacon (bass). The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde (vocals, guitar); Adam Seymour (guitar); Andy Hobson (bass guitar); Martin Chambers (drums, background vocals). Additional personnel: Kevin Bacon (bass guitar). Recording information: 2005. The 21st-century version of the Pretenders may still be ably fronted by Chrissie Hynde and percussively supported by drum king Martin Chambers, but LOOSE SCREW represents both a move to a new label and flirtations with some new sounds. Sure, the opener "Lie To Me" is not a million miles from "Precious" or any of the other early rockers, and ballads "Saving Grace" and "The Losing" don't exactly discourage comparisons to the band's 1994 hit "I'll Stand By You," but that's where the similarities end. As far as the rest of the album goes, it sounds like Chrissie and company (guitar whiz Adam Seymour is still aboard, by the way) have been spending a lot of time listening to classic reggae, dub, and R&B records. Anyone familiar with Chambers's prowess can predict the ease with which he approaches these idioms. Lyrically, Hynde is in a more reflective/introspective mode than on some of her previous albums, but did you really expect (or want) to hear endless variations on "Brass in Pocket" ad infinitum?