Today is Chrissie Hynde's birthday, but she's the one giving us a gift: The Pretenders have announced Alone, their first album since 2008's Break Up the Concrete.

Helmed by Hynde and Dan Auerbach — who also produced the album — Alone features Nashville session luminaries including bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Sturgill Simpson), pedal steel pioneer Russ Pahl and guitarist Kenny Vaughan, as well as keyboardist Leon Michels and drummer Richard Swift, both members of Auerbach's band the Arcs.

The day The Current premiered "Holy Communion," the lead single off Alone, Mary Lucia talked with Chrissie Hynde on the phone about the album, solitude and working with Dan Auerbach.

The Pretenders open for Stevie Nicks at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016.