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The Pretenders are back with today’s premiere of the optimistically charged new single, “Let The Sun Come In,” available now via Rhino Records – the band’s return to Warner Music Group after more than two decades having first been signed to Sire Records in America by the legendary Seymour Stein.
Marked by the electrifying impulsiveness and attitude that has long defined founder Chrissie Hynde’s eternal spirit, “Let The Sun Come In” heralds the eagerly awaited arrival of The Pretenders’ new studio album, Relentless, arriving everywhere on Friday, September 1. Pre-orders – including digital download, baby pink vinyl, black vinyl, and CD – are available now.
“I enjoy seeing the various meanings and origins of a word,” says Chrissie Hynde of the album’s title. “And I liked the definition: ‘showing no abatement of intensity.’ So when it came to an album title, it seemed fitting. You know…to keep doing it. I think anyone in a band is constantly questioning if they should keep going. It starts as a youthful pursuit and eventually, it makes you wonder, why am I doing this? It’s the life of the artist. You never retire. You become relentless.”
LISTEN TO “LET THE SUN COME IN”
PRE-ORDER RELENTLESS
Produced by multiple Grammy Award-nominee David Wrench (Courtney Barnett, David Byrne) at the famed Battery Studios in Willesden, North West London, Relentless marks the second consecutive full-length songwriting collaboration by Hynde and Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne following 2020’s acclaimed Hate For Sale. The two are joined on the album’s twelve tracks by what Hynde has dubbed “The Pretenders Collective,” including Kris Sonne (drums), Chris Hill (double bass), Dave Page (bass), and Carwyn Ellis (keyboards and guitars). In addition, Relentless features a landmark collaboration with Academy Award-nominated composer Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile), who provides the string arrangement and conducted the 12 Ensemble for the album’s stunning closing track, “I Think About You Daily.”
“I met Jonny a couple of times and we’re obviously big fans of him because he’s done some incredible music over the years,” Hynde says. “I saw him at the Phantom Thread premiere where the film was running on screen with a live orchestra playing. And we spoke afterward and he expressed an interest in doing something one day. I was thrilled and very surprised. So when we had the idea of getting strings on ‘I Think About You Daily,’ he was first choice. Legend!”
The Pretenders will introduce Relentless to fans around the world with an equally uncompromising international live schedule, including intimate headline dates, top-billed festival appearances, and a massive EU/UK stadium run supporting Guns N’ Roses. Dates begin tomorrow, May 12, with a much-anticipated headline performance at Brighton, England’s The Great Escape followed by a sold-out tour of clubs and small venues across the UK and Ireland. Further highlights include a very special festival appearance as direct support to Foo Fighters at the upcoming Ohana Festival, curated by Eddie Vedder and set for October 1 at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, CA. Additional dates will be announced. For updates, please visit thepretenders.com.
2020’s Hate For Sale proved yet another triumph for The Pretenders, with Q Magazine hailing the LP as “up there with the best of the early Pretenders albums.” “The New Wave greats haven't sounded this raw and real since the early Eighties,” agreed Rolling Stone, while The Guardian praised the album for “tight songs that prance insouciantly from genre to genre, scattering wisdom and swagger in their wake.”
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THE PRETENDERS - TOUR 2023
MAY
12 – Brighton, UK – The Great Escape *
13 – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms (SOLD OUT)
14 – Cambridge, UK – MASH (SOLD OUT)
16 – Frome, UK – Cheese & Grain (SOLD OUT)
17 – Stoke, UK – The Sugarmill (SOLD OUT)
19 – Limerick, Ireland – Dolans (SOLD OUT)
20 – Core, Ireland – Cypress Avenue (SOLD OUT)
21 – Dublin, Ireland - Olympia Theatre
23 – Belfast, UK – Limelight (SOLD OUT)
25 – Stornoway, UK – Midnight Sun Weekender *
28 – Derbyshire, UK – Bearded Theory *
30- Antwerp, Belgium – De Roma
31- Antwerp, Belgium – De Roma
JUNE
9 – Madrid, Spain - Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano †
11 – Oxfordshire, UK – KITE Festival *
12 – Vigo, Spain - Estadio Abanca Balaídos †
16 – Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain – Azkena Festival *
17 – Kent, UK – Black Deer Festival of Americana *
27 – Glasgow, UK – Bellahouston Park †
30 – London, UK – BST Hyde Park †
JULY
3 – Frankfurt, Germany – Deutsche Bank Park †
5 – Bern, Switzerland – BERNEXPO †
8 – Rome, Italy – Circo Massimo †
11 – Weert, Netherlands - Evenemententerrein †
OCTOBER
1 – Dana Point, CA – OHANA Festival *
* Festival Appearance
† w/ Guns N’ Roses
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THE PRETENDERS
RELENTLESS
(Rhino)
Release Date: Friday, September 1, 2023
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