Just three years after the Pretenders released Hate for Sale, the band has reconvened for their 12th album, Relentless, out Sept. 1.
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The 12-track Relentless marks the band’s first with Rhino Records, and their return to Warner Music Group after more than two decades after being signed to Sire by the late Seymour Stein.
“I enjoy seeing the various meanings and origins of a word,” said singer Chrissie Hynde of the album title in a statement. “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.”
Hynde continued, “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.”
Produced by David Wrench (David Byrne, Manic Street Preachers, Courtney Barnett) at Battery Studios in London, Relentless also marks the second songwriting collaboration by Hynde and Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne, following Hate For Sale.
Dubbed “The Pretenders Collective,” the album also features bassist Dave Page, Chris Hill on double bass, drummer Kris Sonne, and Carwyn Ellis on keyboards and guitar.
Relentless also features Radiohead and The Smile’s Jonny Greenwood, who contributes the string arrangement and conducted the 12 Ensemble on the closing track “I Think About You Daily.”
“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,” shared Hynde. “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 the first choice. Legend.”
In 2021, Hynde also released a collection of Bob Dylan covers, Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, followed by a film documenting the making of the album, Tomorrow is a Long Time.
To support Relentless, the band is also set to kick off a run of shows in the U.K. and Europe from May 12 through July 11, including dates with Guns N’ Roses. The band is also scheduled to perform at Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival on Oct. 1.
‘Relentless’ Track list:
- “Losing My Sense Of Taste”
- “A Love”
- “Domestic Silence”
- “The Copa”
- “Promise Of Love”
- “Merry Widow”
- “Let The Sun Come In”
- “Look Away”
- “Your House Is On Fire”
- “Just Let It Go”
- “Vainglorious”
- “I Think About You Daily”
The Pretenders 2023 Tour
MAY
12 – Brighton, UK – The Great Escape *
13 – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms (SOLD OUT)
14 – Cambridge, UK – MASH (SOLD OUT)
16 – Frome, UK – Cheese & Grain (SOLD OUT)
17 – Stoke, UK – The Sugarmill (SOLD OUT)
19 – Limerick, Ireland – Dolans (SOLD OUT)
20 – Core, Ireland – Cypress Avenue (SOLD OUT)
21 – Dublin, Ireland – Olympia Theatre
23 – Belfast, UK – Limelight (SOLD OUT)
25 – Stornoway, UK – Midnight Sun Weekender *
28 – Derbyshire, UK – Bearded Theory *
30- Antwerp, Belgium – De Roma
31- Antwerp, Belgium – De Roma
JUNE
9 – Madrid, Spain – Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano †
11 – Oxfordshire, UK – KITE Festival *
12 – Vigo, Spain – Estadio Abanca Balaídos †
16 – Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain – Azkena Festival *
17 – Kent, UK – Black Deer Festival of Americana *
27 – Glasgow, UK – Bellahouston Park †
30 – London, UK – BST Hyde Park †
JULY
3 – Frankfurt, Germany – Deutsche Bank Park †
5 – Bern, Switzerland – BERNEXPO †
8 – Rome, Italy – Circo Massimo †
11 – Weert, Netherlands – Evenemententerrein †
OCTOBER
1 – Dana Point, CA – OHANA Festival *
* Festival Appearance
† w/ Guns N’ Roses
Photo: Ki Price / Courtesy of Big Hassle PR
