Chrissie Hynde Shines Bright Behind Her "Dark Sunglasses"

For me any occasion to hear a Chrissie Hynde composition whether it be with her stellar outfit The Pretenders or going the lone wolf route is cause for a big ole' Texan "Yee-haw!!". "Stockholm" is her first voyage into the latter and what a to be expected classy outing it is. "Dark Sunglasses" is jammed pack with the piss and vinegar Chrissie has delivered over the decades. You know you can count on an intelligent listen when Chrissie steps up to the mike. Let's pull back the curtain for an introspective discussion. It appears that the words behind this music speak to dignity and how you manage to maintain it when the odds, law of averages, or both find you only flirting with it instead of taking it in your arms and laying the biggest smooch on it ever viewed by human eyes. It's hard getting your groove back when you've been beaten down for so long you wonder what your groove ever was in the first place. "Sleeping in the van" is one of those familiar rock and roll lifestyle snippets in time. You can tell the trajectory from weed smoking rocker to dyed in the wool adult complete with pension plan and homeowner's insurance. To her credit Chrissie still rocks with fervor despite dabbling in decidedly grown-up subject matter. She strums like a woman who's weathered many storms but refuses to give up the ghost on her so called charmed life. She refers to the titular dark sunglasses as "A kind of glamour you can lend yourself." Anyone who remembers "My Baby" the nurturing yet uncompromising track off of The Pretender's 1986 "Get Close" album can recall "I know I'm a peasant dressed as a princess, but that doesn't mean you have to take my clothes away." That line too was an example of a downtrodden person merely craving the chance to play dress up in royal garb not befitting her unfortunate station in life. I'd be hard pressed to recall a juncture in Chrissie's career arc where she didn't have a kinship with the folks who simply get used to being disenfranchised in spite of living in a country where freedom is spoken about, defended, and yes, even died for. "My Baby" was a rollicking affair. It was a big a presence in the recording studio as The Pretenders are on stage. "Dark Sunglasses" grasps for mellow air and nuzzles into its likable glow soon after. The drums used here echo a celebratory presence that goes with wearing sunglasses you know belong to someone else's airspace. The guitar is not an angry defiant fellow. In fact the fun is in putting on the costume and that seems to sustain her. You'll gladly notice Texas landscape in the accompanying vid. Chrissie runs down the role call of the trappings worn by the upper crust. "Shaving, wearing a tie, isn't sacrificing much" is the conclusion a housewife might draw upon reaching the boiling point with her husband who can't bring himself to lurch past the casual dress stage of being out in the world. Chrissie hints at the idea the ruling class not only has its own social caste but its own distinct unmistakably tantalizing taste too. I feel the pacing of the drums reveals a person who's almost too beaten down by the odds to muster up more than a slight nod to celebrating the image juxtaposition. In the tail portion of "My Baby" the drummer kicked up the song's attitude a notch or five. Here he is content to run through the lawn sprinkler in his front yard rather than reach for a limelight he knows won't be seeking out his address any time soon. Class and cadence are two ideals Chrissie has employed in her song structures from day one. You'll notice you're the better in the long run for having paused to try on her particular dark sunglasses.