The Pretenders - Break Up the Concrete reviews
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| Allmusic |
 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 recreation 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 been swapped out for a frenetic rockabilly bop, as infectious on the barrel-headed boogie "Don't Cut Your Hair" and Bo Diddley romp of the title track as it is on the ingenious Dylan send-up "Boots of Chinese Plastic." Hynde's revived rockabilly roll finds a comfortable pairing in the easy county-rock vibe of her ballads, of which there are far more of than there are rockers here. This emphasis on rockabilly and country-rock gives Break Up the Concrete a bit of an Americana feel -- something enhanced by the gently murmuring accordion on "You Didn't Have To," which otherwise is a cousin to the sighing pop of "Kid" -- but this doesn't necessarily feel like a departure for Hynde: it just feels like a lively, deeply felt Pretenders album, one that has better songs and better performances than usual....full text |
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| Billboard |
| In the Pretenders' 30-year history, frontwoman Chrissie Hynde has been the only constant member, and the four other musicians on the band's ninth studio album haven't appeared on any of the previous eight. But while a tumultuous personnel record can threaten a band's momentum and consistency, it seems in this case to serve Hynde's creativity well. The blues- and country-influenced songs on "Break Up the Concrete" are an engaging departure from the group's earlier hits, while Hynde's dynamic alto voice gives the set the unmistakable Pretenders identity. Minor chords and vocal reverb make "Almost Perfect" both haunting and pleasingly poppy, while the energetic title track is a honky-tonk work song with a punchy Bo Diddley beat. And with ballads like closer "One Thing Never Changed," Hynde proves she can turn from rocker to crooner on a dime.—Evie Nagy...full text |
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| Rollingstone |
| Nearly a quarter-century after she sang about it, Chrissie Hynde has gone back to Ohio — literally and figuratively. Rock's most famous Akronite-turned-Londoner has been spending more time in her Rust Belt hometown, where she has opened a vegan restaurant. And on Break Up the Concrete, she has returned to the American musical heartland, injecting her songs with the hopped-up sound of early rock & roll. The result is the best Pretenders record in years, a mix of galloping rockabilly and country & western songs, delivered in Hynde's trademark snarl — the voice of the toughest chick in the biker gang. There are Bo Diddley-style rave-ups ("Break Up the Concrete"), pedal steel weepers ("One Thing Never Changed") and boogie blues ("Rosalee"), played with crackling efficiency and anchored by virtuoso drummer Jim Keltner. The sound is raucous, but Hynde's songs are grown-up: sad and wise reflections on politics and relationships, with a romanticism that's hard-edged and hard-won. "Every drop that runs through the vein," she sings in "Boots of Chinese Plastic," "always makes its way back to the heart again."...full text |
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