![](https://www.center.iastate.edu/files/2018/02/1260-x-480-Pretenders.jpg)
The Pretenders became New Wave legends with chart-topping hits like “Back on the Chain Gang,” “I’ll Stand By You” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong.” Now, nearly four decades from their 1980 debut album, Chrissie Hynde’s beautifully distinctive voice is perhaps more emotional and aggressive than at any other time in her career.
Alone is the first Pretenders album in eight years. Originally intended as a solo follow-up to Hynde’s 2014 solo album, Stockholm, it soon became obvious that its driving guitars, ragged-but-righteous arrangements, and tough-yet-tender lyrics sounded fantastically familiar – The Pretenders were back.
The new album and tour mark Hynde’s first musical effort since her 2015 memoir, Reckless: My Life As A Pretender, which was hailed by The New York Times upon its release as “honest and distinctive…first and foremost, a love letter to rock and roll.”