Pretenders

3<x<3.5

The Good: They aren't pretending anything!
The Bad: They have bad taste in clothes…
The Ugly: only 47 minutes and 2 seconds long…

What an absolute joy to listen to.
I believe that I was familiar with 2 Pretenders songs, gratefully now I am familiar with more!

Off to give them there well deserved 4*… oh so close to 5*

It's a listenable album, nothing offensive, good rhythm. I did struggle to understand many of the lyrics, I'm not sure if they were nonsensical or it was Chrissie Hynde's vocal style.

That’s a super easy 5.

Chrissie Hynde has been one of the most persistent banes of my trivia existence – I’ve never heard a song by Pretenders until listening through this album, but I’ll be damned if I haven’t been dragged and kicked into learning that Chrissie Hynde is their lead vocalist. Her vocal style on this album just feels super refreshing for some reason that I can’t quite grasp – the closest comparison I have is Alanis Morissette, and there are plenty of times throughout this album where I swear I’m hearing Alanis. I think it’s something to do with the ability to easily switch between a sort of soft spoken word and belting out on a dime.

Past all of that though, this is just an awesome sounding album from an instrumental standpoint – in many ways, this really does feel like the first album of the 1980s. It was recorded in the 70s, and didn’t get released until January of 1980, but this really feels like the first proper album to capture the sounds and stylings of 80s production in full force. A lot of the stuff on here sounds like it could be from any one year of the decade at any given point, and that’s really cool to me. I think the guitar and percussion both have their standout moments here, the guitar moreso, but when mixed with Chrissie’s vocals, it just clicks together perfectly.

I don’t think there’s a bad track on here; maybe a few duller moments, but I’d say this album keeps up the energy pretty much at all times. I really, really enjoyed this, and I’m glad I can finally put a sound to the trivia question that I usually miss. This was awesome. Very deserved 5.

Didn't like this one at all

The songs themselves weren't bad, some were catchy even. But the off beat talking over the music, the whiny singing and screeching was too much for me. Didn't like her voice sorry to say

2 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this. Hit(s) aside, I liked discovering songs I hadn’t heard before. Chrissy’s voice is amazing!

3/5

You think you know an album. Yeah yeah great hits, great opener, etc. But wait. Tattoo Love Boys! The guitar on Private Life! Great closer!

At school a girlfriend tried to get me into this but in 1987 I thought of them as old hat. The folly of youth.

Way more interesting than I expected.

I don't know. some of the songs were interesting, but it's still just a generic post punk band with a woman in the lead. Is there as many disco albums as post-punk in this list? somehow I doubt it...

Not as good as I was expecting, wow.

Now that’s what I call fantastic :-D

I listened to this album twice, because I wanted to give it a 4, but I felt like it was a 3. On re-listen, I realized what was creating this dissonance: the first half of the album is fairly mediocre, in my opinion—some interesting musical ideas, but the songs feel underwritten. Then you get to “Stop Your Sobbing” at track 7 (!), and it feels like a whole new album has started! More memorable melodies, more varied arrangements, and stronger songs all around. If the album were just the second half, it would have been an easy 4 stars. But unfortunately, it’s hampered by the weaker first half.

Ihan solid indierock-platta. En osaa löytää virheitä, mutta ei myöskään mitään sellaista, josta innostuis enää tän listan jälkeen. 2.5/5

This is a longboi. Singer reminds me of the yeah yeah yeahs. Good energy and drive but I'm not sure why this is here. Not going into my favorites, but the vocals are great, 3*.
It starts very punk rock, then stop your sobbing is like a pop bonanza.
Recognize: brass in pocket

Precious is an alltime great opener, and the spikier tracks here are fantastic - really playing into Hynde's sass. Sags in the middle and end sadly, Brass in Pocket aside

This album started strong but by mid-way through the songs lost their luster and listening felt like a chore. Not terrible but certainly not enjoyable. 2/5

Punky, spiky, gritty. Never been a major fan of Chrissie Hynde's vocals, but certainly appreciate the sentiment.

A lot to like here.

Sgu bare ikke min stil, sorry Pretenders!