Chrissie Hynde has always followed instinct over expectation, and her new project Duets Special shows that intuition in full bloom. Released under the name Chrissie Hynde & Pals, the album brings together thirteen striking collaborations with artists whose voices match her fearlessness and soul. Among them are k.d. lang, the late Mark Lanegan, Lucinda Williams, Dave Gahan, Cat Power, Brandon Flowers, Debbie Harry, and Shirley Manson. The first single, a tender and timeless version of “Always On My Mind,” features Rufus Wainwright.

The album began almost by accident. Hynde recalls a casual phone call with Wainwright’s husband, Jörn Weisbrodt, where a conversation about novels turned into a creative spark. “I never thought about doing a duets album before,” she says. “It started as something fun and unplanned.” What followed was a handwritten list of songs and an open invitation to friends, collaborators, and kindred spirits. The recordings that grew from those sessions are raw, intimate, and guided by one simple theme: great melodies.

Each track on Duets Special carries its own personality. Hynde and k.d. lang find effortless harmony, while her pairing with Cat Power feels both haunting and human. Her duet with Mark Lanegan is deeply moving, a tribute to a voice gone too soon. Throughout it all, the arrangements remain stripped down and warm, allowing the chemistry between singers to take center stage.

Duets Special continues one of the most creative runs of Hynde’s career. It follows the Pretenders’ Relentless, which The Guardian praised as “at their melodic best,” and the world tour that produced the live album Kick ’em Where It Hurts. Her performance last year at the Mark Lanegan 60 Celebration Concert at London’s Roundhouse drew acclaim from The Times, who wrote that Hynde’s voice “should have UNESCO world heritage status by now.”

With Duets Special, Chrissie Hynde reminds us that her voice remains one of the most distinct in modern music, capable of tenderness, grit, and grace in equal measure. It is a collection built not on nostalgia, but on shared moments between artists who understand what it means to truly connect through song.