The Pretenders Sound Good on 'Hate for Sale', But Overall It's A Very Middle of the Road Record

Marking the fourth record from Pretenders throughout the last 20 years, Hate For Sale is undeniably an album coming from a band that is undeniably a legacy act at this point. Even though their prime was undoubtedly left in the 1980’s, Pretenders are still sounding fairly strong as a band on their fortieth year since their debut LP. This is far from the strongest music I’ve heard from the band, or even from this week in new releases, but I’m never one to dog on a band who has been around forever still putting out music because they love to do so. While I am a critic who therefore is supposed to critique albums, even ones I like, I always still find it great to hear from old names. At the end of the day, I’m just somebody who loves music as much as the next guy. Even when I’m not particularly into it, it’s still always great to hear some music from people who love music just as much as I do. However, you can probably tell by the way I’m phrasing that this wasn’t exactly… my cup of tea? This is far from a bad album by any stretch of the term, but it’s also far from something that’s special.

This is just about as by the numbers of a Pretenders record as it could have been, if that makes sense? I don’t want to sound disrespectful as once again it is still awesome for any band to be putting out records 40 years into their career, but at the end of the day very little about this album is memorable. There are a couple tracks that flex the band’s Rock muscle a bit more heavily, and I did find myself enjoying those a good deal. It’s great to hear these guys still putting out some songs with fire and energy, but that praise doesn’t apply to everything on this album. I’ll also say that all the band members can definitely still play. This is a very professional and solid sounding record from start to finish. There are absolutely no hiccups and the band gets through it’s set of tracks absolutely flawlessly. Tracks like Hate for Sale and Turf Accountant Daddy have some real bite to them and got me nodding my head, and I’ve also got to admit that there isn’t a song on here that is actually bad. Rather, the band just kind of sounds like a bar band at this point.

This record sounds like the kind of thing I would hear from a small local band that is totally content with playing their local bars and entertaining their friends. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that in the slightest, but there is also absolutely nothing special about it. These are really straightforward songs, the kind of songs you’d hear from singer/songwriters at open mic nights. Actually, I’d be willing to bet every single song on this album could be repurposed into a killer open mic song for any musician with a guitar and a voice. Even the most intense and energetic tracks on the album feel like they could just as easily be put into the context of getting everyone in the bar to stomp their feet. Once again, there is nothing inherently wrong about this in the slightest, but I don’t know anybody who prioritizes playing music from their local bar band over their other favorite artists. At the end of the day, the band sounds really good on this and I’m happy that they’re out here still having a great time putting out new music. At 68 years old, Chrissie Hynde in particular sounds absolutely fantastic on here as well. For what it’s worth, I’d be super into hearing this album played live in a bar setting. I just don’t think I’ll be playing it in my car again anytime soon.

The worst crime this album commits is just being forgettable and not giving me much to talk about. I think myself and everybody else in the world has heard plenty of music that commits far worse crimes than this. However, I’m struggling to find much to even say about this album aside from the fact that it doesn’t commit any crimes, and that’s not usually a good sign. I am actively struggling to find things to even mention about this album that will allow me to continue writing about it, and as you can probably tell it’s starting to get a bit hard. Actually, the song Maybe Love is in NYC just came on, and that reminded me that it’s actually a pretty solid deep cut, so I guess I’ll give that one some love before wrapping this up. I think the simple, yet effective guitar work on this track make it my favorite of the recent couple of Pretenders records. It’s got an old school, yet modernized flair about it that makes it fit in with the band’s sound really naturally. It sounds extremely familiar, yet just different enough to give it a quality the rest of this record lacks, which is that it’s special. It’s a song I can see myself actively seeking out and wanting to come back to in the future.

I wish I could repeat that sentiment about more tracks on this album, but there just isn’t much going on here that really got me invested whatsoever. I gave it quite a few listens hoping that something about it would make me find it to be a really enjoyable return to form from the band, but that just never happened. It’s an innocent, straightforward and perfectly acceptable album that doesn’t take hardly any risks and probably serves as pretty solid fanservice for those that grew up with the band. I certainly didn’t given that I was born a year after their debut’s 20th anniversary, but for what my young opinion is worth this just isn’t very interesting. Next time around, I’d love to see the band follow through the same direction they went in on Maybe Love is in NYC, as that slightly messy and reverb-soaked Indie Rock vibe was very flattering for the group. I highly doubt that’s going to happen though, so I hope at least longtime fans got more out of this than I did. Hate for Sale finds the Pretenders kind of just going through the motions and delivering some really simple and digestible songs, the kind you’d hear from local small town bands being played in bars. I’m sure this probably serves as some great fanservice and it’s awesome to hear a band still sounding this strong 40 years into their discography, but at the end of the day this is a pretty forgettable record. It’s cool to hear from the band again at best. - 5.6/10 (Best Songs - Turf Accountant Daddy, Maybe Love is in NYC, Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely)