Concrete Blonde – Bloodletting

Bloodletting is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde. Released on May 15, 1990, the album marks a shift for the band toward gothic rock. Though the sudden embrace of the trappings of Goth culture via Anne Rice was a bit odd, given Napolitano's long-standing fascination with both Catholic and Mexican imagery (and the elements of sex and death prevalent in both) it wasn't too strange. Her song writing and singing focus remains much more roots-oriented, as the opening strut/stroll of "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)" makes clear. Not that she and the band can't kick out the jams as well -- immediately following that is "The Sky Is a Poisonous Garden," a punk-speed thrash with deliciously decadent imagery to boot. The most well-known song was "Joey," which actually got some top 40 airplay; while it has certain catchiness to it, ultimately it comes off as a less successful Heart song from the same era, which is saying something. Far more successful is nearly everything else on the album, from the dark chime of "Caroline," addressing a departed friend, to the soothing "Lullabye," which far from being a mere kiddie tune is a great love song with some fantastic guitar from Mankey. R.E.M.'s Peter Buck adds mandolin to "Darkening of the Light," which adds to the song's mysterious, haunting edge, while "I Don't Need a Hero" is barely there, the softest of music accompanying Napolitano's lyric. Her singing throughout Bloodletting is passionate and catchy, with a deep throaty ache on many cuts. Everything wraps up with a version of Andy Prieboy's "Tomorrow, Wendy." Having done a duet with him on his own recording of the song, she takes full lead here, delivering a bravura performance of the bitter, heart-breaking lyric.

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When I heard their cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” and considered the fact that their Bloodletting album was influenced heavily by Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles book series, I decided with a sniff that the group’s most creative moments piggybacked on the creative achievements of others, and moved on. It would take some time to learn two things: 1) a band realizing its potential is a rare thing, and 2) good interpreters are few and far between. Bloodletting owed a heavy debt to Rice’s humid, wasted version of New Orleans, but it also found vocalist Johnette Napolitano’s lyrics and the band’s sound — a broad and dense post-punk style characterized by slightly twanged guitar — coming together. Whereas the band’s previous efforts had shown promise with a handful of keepers apiece, Bloodletting provided a gothic alternative for anyone who might have found the Cure’s Disintegration too mannered or stately. As part of a three-album run that included 1992’s Walking in London and 1993’s Mexican Moon, Bloodletting began a creatively fruitful period for the band, one in which they explored issues such as failed relationships, addiction, and a blend of Catholic and Hispanic imagery with often inspired results. Concrete Blonde then broke up (they would briefly reunite years later before disbanding again).
“Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” kicks things off in raucous fashion, with a slinky riff giving way to a shouted chorus. “The Sky is a Poisonous Garden” then speeds things up even further by hurtling through like a runaway locomotive in less than three minutes. The record’s nocturnal vibe continues through songs like “Darkening of the Light” and “The Beast”, but Bloodletting broke the band on the strength of character studies like “Caroline” and “Joey”, which chronicled less supernatural tribulations. By this point, the band’s streetwise grit was blending with a sense of romanticism that elevated many songs above the level of straightforward vignettes. Personally disappointing is that the live version of the Andy Prieboy-penned “Tomorrow, Wendy” discards Napolitano’s introduction to the song. To these ears, that speech added even more anger to Concrete Blonde’s definitive version of this song about a woman dying of AIDS.