Pretenders have announced their next album: Relentless arrives September 1 via Rhino, marking the band’s return to Warner Music Group after more than 20 years. Today, Chrissie Hynde and company have released lead single “Let the Sun Come In” and revealed the album’s tracklist and cover art. Find all of that below.
“I enjoy seeing the various meanings and origins of a word,” Hynde stated of the album’s title in a press release. “And I liked the definition: ‘showing no abatement of intensity.’ So when it came to an album title, it seemed fitting. You know… to keep doing it. I think anyone in a band is constantly questioning if they should keep going. It starts as a youthful pursuit and eventually, it makes you wonder, why am I doing this? It’s the life of the artist. You never retire. You become relentless.”
Relentless was produced by David Wrench at Battery Studios in Willesden, London. The new record features guitarist James Walbourne, who also played on Pretenders’ 2020 LP, Hate for Sale. Hynde and Walbourne are joined by drummer Kris Sonne, bassist Dave Page, keyboardist and guitarist Carwyn Ellis, and double bassist Chris Hill. Closing track “I Think About You Daily” also includes a string section arranged and conducted by Radiohead and the Smile’s Jonny Greenwood, performed by 12 Ensemble.
“I met Jonny a couple of times and we’re obviously big fans of him because he’s done some incredible music over the years,” Hynde explained. “I saw him at the Phantom Thread premiere where the film was running on screen with a live orchestra playing. And we spoke afterward and he expressed an interest in doing something one day. I was thrilled and very surprised. So when we had the idea of getting strings on ‘I Think About You Daily,’ he was first choice. Legend!”
Find out where Pretenders’ pivotal self-titled LP landed on Pitchfork’s list of “The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s.”
Relentless:
01 Losing My Sense of Taste
02 A Love
03 Domestic Silence
04 The Copa
05 Promise of Love
06 Merry Widow
07 Let the Sun Come In
08 Look Away
09 Your House Is on Fire
10 Just Let It Go
11 Vainglorious
12 I Think About You Daily
