Pretenders: ¡Viva El Amor!

No surprises here. A Pretenders album these days is the rock equivalent of comfort food: solid, satisfying, familiar fare that could be a little more exciting but doesn't really have to be. In the band's 20-year career, Chrissie Hynde and a rotating cast of musicians have delivered one memorable pop song after another. By now, Hynde has the act down cold, but as effortless as things might seem for her, she never really seems to stop trying. Little on ¡Viva El Amor!, the band's first studio album since 1994's Last Of The Independents, distinguishes itself from other post-salad-days efforts, but it also offers little about which to complain. Hynde's voice, for one thing, sounds as passionate as ever, and her songwriting continues to push all the right buttons. In a strange way, it's "Biker," the album's last and best song, that makes ¡Viva El Amor! seem like something of a disappointment. A tender ode to toughness and a transcendent moment of pop greatness, it raises the question of whether Hynde could still turn in an album's worth if she put her mind to it.