Break Up the Concrete is the first Pretenders album since 1990s Packed! where Chrissie Hynde wrote almost every song on the album on her own, but unlike the generally listless Packed!, Break Up the Concrete is an effective rebirth for Hynde, a reconnection to her roots undoubtedly effected by her return to her native Ohio. This may be a stripped-down record carrying echoes of the Pretenders past, but this is hardly a conscious re-creation of the group's first two records, as it lacks any of the stylish guitar colorings of James Honeyman-Scott, and the group's early hard rock swagger has Read more on Last.fm.
