Pretenders: Viva El Amor! : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Twenty years on, the Pretenders' sound hasn't dated. Amid the New Wave tangle of 1979, the Pretenders shined like some mutant jewel, sui generis pop veiling unfashionable romanticism, glossed by Chrissie Hynde's nerve and that extraordinary voice, with its tremulous sustains and surprising phrasing, equal parts sass and sob. On this latest effort, Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers keep that sound alive. íViva El Amor! is professional in the best sense: confident, mature, buffed to a sparkle by Stephen Hague's sinewy production. These Pretenders are at their finest in big ol' rock mode. "Dragway 42" is an intelligent headbanger, and "Legalise Me" races relentlessly, exhausting everyone but the indefatigable singer. When the songs slow down, Hynde's lyrical flaws gape -- "Biker" is a silly metaphor for feeling liberated by love. The kick-ass kickoff tune, "Popstar," is full of misplaced bitterness and unbecomingly competitive asides. So "they don't make 'em like they used to" -- well, they don't need to, do they?