Concrete Blonde
Live In Brazil (ARK21)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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For whatever reason the exploits of Concrete Blonde have remained largely obscured. Fleshed in 1982 out of the same Los Angeles post punk scene that counts X and Wall of Voodoo as members, they were originally Dream 6 until then I.R.S. label mate Michael Stipe offered them a new more colorful name. Fronted by the hauntingly vibrant presence of singer, songwriter and bassist Johnette Napolitano, the entity known as Concrete Blonde has been vigilantly creating dark, gothic music for more than two decades.

Favorites plucked from that fruitful period are covered on their latest release, Live From Brazil. It is a gritty performance, capturing their signature sweet furious flavor akin to metallic tang of blood in the mouth. The group's most recognizable songs from 1990's Bloodletting comprise many of the highlights. "Joey" and "Caroline" are without a doubt Concrete Blonde's most memorable, passionately rendered to close out the first disc. The Leonard Cohen cover "Everybody Knows" isn't nearly as hushed as the original, but is comfortable in its new, colder clothes. Appropriately enough, Concrete Blonde closes the two disc set with "Tomorrow Wendy," a grim April shower, which wittily thrusts a thumb in the eye of convention.

Napolitano is sexy at every turn, from her evocation of tortured love to her anti-George Bush rant preceding "Violent." The band behind her renders every song with uncommon force, perhaps creating enough of a shock wave to unseat decades of obscurity.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz