Pretenders have released their 11th studio album, Hate for Sale. The LP, originally scheduled for May 1 via BMG, was delayed due to retail and shipment restrictions related to the Covid-19 virus. The new title arrived on July 17.
The Pretenders were expecting to celebrate Hate for Sale with a North American tour alongside Journey, with dates originally scheduled to begin May 15. It was canceled due to the pandemic.
Of “You Can’t Hurt a Fool,” Chrissie Hynde says, “I suppose our biggest influence apart from crazy, hard-core rock and roll has been R&B. [Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne] and I really grappled with this one to get in all the subtleties and nuance of an R&B classic, albeit with modern, autobiographical lyrics… The fool is me!”
Listen to “You Can’t Hurt a Fool”
Produced by Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur), Hate for Sale features 10 new songs written by Hynde and Walbourne, their first full-length songwriting collaboration to date.
Listen to “Crying in Public”
Furthermore, the album, which follows 2016’s Alone, marks the first Pretenders album to feature the band’s longtime touring line-up of Hynde, Walbourne, bassist Nick Wilkinson and founding drummer Martin Chambers.
Watch the official video for “Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely”
“I think we all know that love affairs can take on the characteristics of drug addiction,” says Hynde in the album’s original Mar. 17 press release. “’The Buzz’ is about that. Not mine, of course–I’m never obsessive never obsessive never obsessive.”
Watch the video for “The Buzz,” made entirely while under lockdown
Listen to the title track from Hate For Sale
Related: Our Album Rewind review of the Pretenders’ debut album
Listen to “Maybe Love is in NYC”
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
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