Concrete Blonde is receiving favorable reviews from the National press. Mojave has been reviewed by Blender and Billboard, recieving alocades for Johnette Napolitano's lyrical and scenic detailing of the desert and the life forces within.
Billboard Review:
Concrete Blonde's "Mojave" is a sonic love affair with the desert of that name and its inhabitants-be they human or otherwise. It is filled with the desolation and foreboding wonder found within its sands, its expressions so eloquent you can almost hear the scamper of rolling tumbleweeds. Western spook story "Ghost Riders in the Sky" is told with a clucking drum and wobbling, ebbing guitar. Bassist/vocalist Johnette Napolitano's throaty voice enriches the spoken-word "Hey Coyote" (a history of the animal's tragedies and perseverance). The title cut paints a day in the life of the desert, with its sunsets and vagabonds traveling along Highway 62. "Someone's Calling Me" invokes an extraterrestrial experience, and "Himalayan Motorcycles" is a drowsy ride. In feistier songs "True to This" and "My Tornado at Rest," Napolitano relates how her move to the Mojave restored and rejuvenated her.-CLT
Blender Review:***
Concrete Blonde begin and end with the overpowering force of singer Johnette Napolitano — buy a ticket to her voice and you might wake up a week later, hung over in Hong Kong, wondering “Wha’ hoppen?” She takes you places. Mojave is inspired by the desert Napolitano lives near — the songs are full of lizards and loners, the best tune sticks up for the coyote and there’s even a spooky cover of the old cowboy song “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” The songs on Concrete Blonde’s eighth studio album are appropriately boomy and a little spaced-out. There are a few too many Doorsy vamps and not enough hooks — but then again, you don’t expect a parade float in the desert; you expect atmosphere, and that Napolitano’s got to spare.