Stockholm

For all of the 35 years or so that The Pretenders have existed, the only thing consistent about them was Chrissie Hynde. For many years, she was The Pretenders. For whatever reason, her latest album, Stockholm, is classified as a solo album, the first of its kind. As such, it's kind of Pretenders-lite.

In one of the songs, "Sweet Nuthin," she sings, "I don't need a lie, to see your other side. You can save it for your solo album." I can't imagine this material was saved for a solo album, since she's been the only singer and songwriter in The Pretenders history.

The songs are all okay, but none meet the expectations of a Pretenders fan. They are not particularly interesting musically, nor lyrically. The opening song is called "You or No One," and has a chorus that goes:

"I just wanna be with you always
I wanna be around you always
I just wanna be with you or no one
Making it, you or no one."

Now, those sound like lyrics that are in a high school girl's notebook. I don't know how any, let alone a pro like Chrissie Hynde, can write them with a straight face. But then, on the same record, she has a song called "You're the One." She's doubling down on the cliches.

More interesting is "Adding the Blue," which makes references to Monet and Van Gogh and S. Clay Wilson, a seminal figure in the underground comix world. The song is a nice meditation on failed life seen in an artist's terms. I also liked "House of Cards," which is a rich song.

On the whole, Stockholm is an okay album. I just wanted more from Hynde, considering her fantastic output over the years.