's talent is a musical gift from heaven, a one-of-a-kind voice that powered her band, the Pretenders, into creating some of rock's most memorable songs in the 1970s and '80s.
Drawing out words into more syllables than they came with (like the way 鈥渂ack on the train鈥� becomes "back on the trai-hayne" in the 1982 hit 鈥淏ack on the Chain Gang,鈥�) her performance can be smooth and beautiful, and it can be raw and rocking.
On the band's latest album, 鈥淩elentless,鈥� Hynde and guitarist James Walbourne opt heavily for the former, and perhaps a bit too much.
After the brooding, minor chord mourning opener, 鈥淟osing My Sense of Taste,鈥� and the following track 鈥淎 Love,鈥� a direct descendant of classic '60s pop, the band snuggles down into a protracted series of slow-paced, evocative songs.
There's no other word except 鈥渄rowsy鈥� to describe some of these tracks, including 鈥淭he Copa,鈥� 鈥淧romise of Love鈥� and 鈥淚 Think About You Daily.鈥�
You'd probably think a song with the title 鈥淵our House Is on Fire鈥� would be a full-speed ahead rocker, full of urgency and immediacy. And you'd be wrong.
This may or may not be a bad thing, depending on your taste and tolerance for ballads. The sparse arrangement on many of these tracks allows Hynde's voice to fill the spaces, and she uses it to maximum effect.
Some tracks, like 鈥淢erry Widow,鈥� start off slowly but then allow the guitars to grow louder and more present as the song progresses. In a welcome shift, 鈥淰ainglorious鈥� is a power chord-forward song harkening back to the band's early punk rock days.
But 鈥淩elentless鈥� does not deliver fast-paced rockers like some of the band's biggest hits, including 鈥淢ystery Achievement,鈥� 鈥淧recious鈥� and 鈥淢iddle of the Road.鈥�
Don't get me wrong: are one of the great bands, capable of playing any kind of music at any time and doing it almost flawlessly. But there's just a little too much relenting here.
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AP music reviews:
Wayne Parry, The Associated Press
