Music
Review: The Pretenders Team With Dan Auerbach for Brass-Knuckled ‘Alone’
Our take on the New Wave icons' 10th album
Chrissie Hynde launched the Pretenders' 1980 debut by telling some hot thing to "fuck off." She reprises the sentiment on the band's 10th studio LP, with "Alone," a cocky celebration of rolling solo. At 65, she's still mouthing off over brass-knuckled rock & roll, flexing command and carnality with no apology. Producer Dan Auerbach embellishes her genre fetishes: "Holy Commotion" quotes the Ronettes; twang-guitar hero Duane Eddy turns up on "Never Be Together." And befitting a memoirist (see last year's Reckless), her introspect is unsparing. "I Hate Myself" is a slow-dancing laundry list of self-loathing.