The return of Chrissie Hynde makes one realise how much we have missed that yearning, soulful vibrato. After 35 years fronting the Pretenders, she insists that her first "solo album" is more collaborative than usual, referring to Björn Yttling (of Peter, Björn and John) as producer/co-writer, and guitar cameos from Neil Young and John McEnroe (seriously). Young's trademark Crazy Horse chug fires the gently sassy Down the Wrong Way, but many tracks definitely do recall her old band. Only Hynde can deliver a line such as "This isn't gonna end like in the movies" with so exquisite a mix of realism and regret, while Dark Sunglasses takes knowing potshots at slumming poshos. Not all the tracks hit the spot, and some of her edge has been dulled by studio sheen, but the album is bookended by two songs from her top drawer. The Phil Spectoresque You or No One has a chorus that erupts like a melodic geyser, while the sublime Adding the Blue comes from the same mine of wistful gold that produced the likes of I Go to Sleep. She's still got it.