The Pretenders Break Up the Concrete

4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he best Pretenders record in years, a mix of galloping rockabilly and country & western songs, delivered in Hynde's trademark snarl..."
"[W]ith her velvet-sandpaper vocals and unflappable rock-chick cool, Hynde is more than enough to build an album around....She cuts loose with an effortlessness it takes years to cultivate..." -- Grade: B
4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's Hynde who steals the show with her lip-curling vibrato, part Elvis, part Dusty, never more intoxicating than on the seductive 'Almost Perfect'..."
"The Pretenders' ninth studio album is a pleasant roots record....Hynde sings about May-September romance and the search for the paved-over soul of her busted hometown, Akron, Ohio..."
Paste (magazine) (p.57) - "Hynde's voice is as recognizable as ever -- all slow vibrato, unrestrained high notes and staccato alto..."
3 stars out of 5 -- "The steel guitar of Son Volt's Eric Heywood is a new voice to the mix, while Jim Keltner adds a veteran's deft touch to the rhythm tracks."