The veteran rock band Pretenders have released a new track titled “You Can’t Hurt A Fool” from their upcoming album Hate For Sale, which will be released on Friday, July 17th. This album release was recently delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This latest song is a departure from their previous singles such as the nostalgic alternative rock track”Buzz” and the high energy punk inspired title track. This latest song is a soft ballad, taking elements of blues, slightly country sounding electric guitars and lead vocalist Chrissie Hynde’s unique vocal delivery, make it a through back to traditional lovelorn ballads.

“I suppose our biggest influence apart from crazy, hard-core rock and roll has been R&B,” Hynde explained in a press release. “James 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!”

The rock outfit has released a total of 11 studio albums since their self-titled debut project back in 1980. This latest project was produced by Stephen Street, who has worked with iconic alternative rock acts such as The Smiths and Blur. This latest album was written by Hynde and the group’s guitarist James Walbourne. This will be their first album since the release of Alone back in 2016.

“The Pretenders do what they do best on their newest album, Alone: combining a welcome mix of surf rock tones and classic rock energy,” mxdwn reviewer William Kelly explained. “Chrissie Hynde and her bandmates have composed an impressive collection of songs that occupy many genres and convey many emotions.”