Pretenders

There was nothing on here I would say I loved but it’s a really good, solid album.

I can’t bloody stand Brass in Pocket though. In a previous job we had our own in store radio but it only had 20 something songs that played on a loop. Nothing necessarily wrong with BIP but you try hearing it at least 3-4 times a day, 5 days a week for a decade lol.

Top Track - Space Invader

Pop Punk from 1979! Sorry, I mean Post Punk*! Ope, jk, I mean New Wave**!

This album has a little bit of everything, and I get how it could be too much for some and not enough for others. You can kinda pick out the singles compared to the punkier album tracks if you have a moderately seasoned ear. I didn't know specifically which songs were singles except "Brass In Pocket" before listening, but I was able to mark them. "Stop Your Sobbing" has the sound, but I was a little surprised that it was actually a single.

I just do not connect with this band. Good instrumentals, but I'm not a fan of either the lyrics or the vocals.

Not life changing

This starts as *approximately* a punk album, but it ends as a lot of things. Honestly, the mix here would be pretty confusing, if not for the fact that a lot of bands sort of sounded like this. I'd say the full picture ends up somewhere in the neighborhood of New Wave, in particular I'd say they are a little like Blondie. Regardless, Pretenders have been one of my blind spots for a while, and this is really good. They sell their punk influence as well as the pop stuff, rock stuff, and the odd reggae influenced track. There's plenty of charisma and attitude and clever songwriting here as well. Tattooed Love Boys might be my favorite here, but there's a lot in the running. I did get to give this a listen, but I honestly think it deserves some more time, so I'm just gonna give this a 4 right now, and call it good. I know that skews a little high for this kind of review, but like I said, my first impression here was *really* good, I'm just not sure if it's good enough to get to a 5, but it *might* be.

Fine album. Singles are the standouts.

This is an album that's technically good but I can't bring myself to like it that much. "Brass in Pocket" and "The Wait" are phenomenal, but there are a few duds, such as "The Phone Call" and "Up The Neck". What this album relies most off of is the punk and alternative energy, which they do quite well. Unfortunately, though, and I hate to say it, but her voice sounded too much like a goat. And I can't stand "Kid". I don't know what it is that people love so much about this music. I get why they like it, and that's as far as I can understand. After all, there a couple songs here that I am fond of.

This made no impact on my life

kvalitetom je malo vrludalo ali je u konačnici ostavilo jako dobar dojam. svidjelo mi se! prva stvar snažna, nakon toga malo slabi, ali onda krene obrada kinksa koja me jako jako ugodno iznenadila - stop your (slavko) sobbin – i počevši s tom pjesmom album je snažniji, izdvojio bih još, da moram, možda private life te brass in pocket. sve u svemu, slušat ću još, sigurno spomenutu obradu :)

Rockin' - pretty cool album. Love the boldness for a debut album.

Geen pretenden nodig. Sterker dan veel soortgelijke New Wave platen uit deze era.

The pervious reviews got my hopes up. Brass in Pocket is decent. The rest is boring. I don't see whats so special that this deserves a place on the list.
2/5.

Déjà écouté avant.

Un premier album parfois inégal, sauvé par une énergie punk contagieuse et, surtout, par le charisme magnétique de Chrissie Hynde, toujours impressionnante.

Top : The Wait
Flop : Up the Neck

3/6/26 - Listened while driving to golf. It was fine but nothing super exciting. I did hear some influences on Pearl Jam songs, their more "punky" ones. Middle of the road for me.

Top Song - Mystery Achievement

Very good. Exceeded my expectationd (and those were already pretty high). Chrissie Hynde is great. And so is the rhythm section. Lyrics were also ok. Really enjoyed this one.

Fav Songs: Kid, Brass in Pocket, Stop Your Sobbing, The Wait

Least Fav: The Phone Call

8.2/10

Het eerste nummer heeft een punk-klank, althans meer dan ik me van deze band herinner. Daarna een vrij makkelijke opzet met een telefoongesprek. Het volgende nummer heeft wat rust ingebouwd. Daarna een keten van muzikale schakelingen. De band doet iets en het varieert wat. Maar het is steeds even zoeken of er nou iets is wat de band echt bijzonder maakt. De zing-pratende zangeres is waarschijnlijk dat waarvan ze het moeten hebben. Tja, wat moet ik hier nou mee? Het is vooral best aardig.

I wasn't blown away, but I liked it. Raw energy and simple songs that work well. It wasn't a boring listen, just not something mind blowing, it was decent.

I've never heard of these guys before. All I know is that if I were around in the 80's this woman would definitely have been one of my gay awakenings. Not anywhere close near Stevie Nicks, Kate Bush and Debbie Harry, but she would've been there somewhere. I was born in the wrong generation not because music sucks now, but because I missed my chance to fangirl over these women.

Anyway back to the album. It's nothing groundbreaking. It sounds pretty much like I would I expect. It's not BAD, but I wouldn't call myself a fan. I'm not THAT into this type of punk/rock or whatever it is. I just know there were a lot of people doing this at the time so it's nothing really incredible. It's an alright album. Kind of the same as with other many albums on this list. I don't hate it, but I don't like it enough to listen to it again. Had a good time while listening though. Just not my jam.

Really feels like this is two different albums. I like the back half much more than the first.