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The Pretenders: Break Up The Concrete
Post Punk/American Rock?
Rating: 2.5/5.0
www.thepretenders.com
Shangri-La Music
www.myspace.com/thepretenders
Chrissy Hynde and The Pretenders sound listless and tired on 'Break Up The Concrete.' With a title like that I expected some lively and radical jams for a new millennium, much like their early material. But this is not the case. Hynde, who used to be equal to London's pop and punk scene, has abandoned the urgency and thrill of that timeless era for middle America's current doldrums. Hynde, despite her strong and rough vocals, has succumbed to middle age producing solemn and slow numbers that make for an ordinary album. Yet there are still some noteworthy aspects to 'Break Up The Concrete.'
Here and there things pick up when The Pretenders invoke a mixture of rock, punk, and rockabilly as on 'Boots Of Chinese Plastic,' the most creative track on the work, 'Boots Of Chinese Plastic,' a great melodic punkabilly number,' and 'Break Up The Concrete, lively with great guitar work.' Even within the sobriety of the rest of the album, Hynde and company have some interesting moments like the melodic country rock of 'Love's A Mystery' and the blues shuffle of 'Almost Perfect.'
I'm sure the ancients over at Rolling Stone magazine are probably raving over 'Break Up The Concrete,' and the would be right to do so. Only the best modern music elitist would find this album comprehendable and enjoyable. - Craig Hartranft
In Short
I'm sure the ancients over at Rolling Stone magazine are probably raving over 'Break Up The Concrete,' and the would be right to do so. Only the best modern music elitist would find this album comprehendable and enjoyable.
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