CONCRETE BLONDE
Group Therapy (Manifesto)
Take a bottle of red wine and a copy of Bloodletting, Concrete Blonde's 1990 dark manifesto, and you're set for an evening of maudlin glory, the sort of experience that probably prompted Poe to write "The Raven." The band released two more CDs after Bloodletting (1992's Walking in London and 1993's Mexican Moon), but both paled in comparison, and Concrete Blonde soon parted ways. Eight years later, the band members, inspired in part by an informal get-together as well as Roxy Music's recent tour, hit the studio to record a dozen new songs. Group Therapy is the sixth full-length release in what's actually a 20-year history.*

"Roxy," a tribute to Bryan Ferry and company, opens with a gorgeous chord progression that's melded with Jim Mankey's apocalyptic guitar. Right off the bat we're treated to Johnette Napolitano's raw-nerve vocals and the band's smoky aesthetic. The song is a worthy successor to Bloodletting's "Caroline." "Violence" utilizes the same formula, working off of a chorus that features ominously layered vocals. "When I Was a Fool" is equal parts bittersweet memoir and confident kissoff. "And I drink and I think/How I don't even miss/My glorious past or the lips that I've kissed," sings Napolitano as nylon-string guitar lopes behind her.

Four songs in, though, the fabric begins to unweave. "True, Part III," even with Mankey's spaghetti-western picking, is faceless. "Tonight," set to a stuttering march that conjures images of the Clash, is interesting musically but lacks lyrical or melodic resonance. "Valentine," "Take Me Home" and "Inside/Outside" feel like genuine filler at times, each milking its respective riff to the point of chafing, with nary a bridge, nor a B or C segment to be found in the arrangements. This trio is thankfully broken up by "Your Llorona," a flamenco-inspired weeper full of beautiful imagery and sounds. "Fried" is also a worthwhile listen, with its bellowing bass and sociological/cultural overload lyrics. The fact of the matter, though, is that it's one of the best songs on the CD, and if Concrete Blonde was firing on all cylinders it would be one of the worst.

The band still conjures its darkly seductive sound as well as it has in the past. Napolitano's voice is every bit as pleading and outraged and soaring as ever. Mankey is still a guitarist of inimitable creativity; perhaps this is a man who could make a great instrumental record.

As exciting as the thought of having Concrete Blonde around again is, though, the reality is that Bloodletting may have set the bar too high. The only question, then, is whether pressing on dilutes what the band has done, or if it gives it a realistic shot at recapturing its former glory. We'll see. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: Mary Coughlan, Alejandro Escovedo, Chris Whitley

* Starting in 1982, they performed for a few years as Dream 6. (back)