Concrete Blonde’s newest album “Mojave” provides a musical postcard
from the edge of civilization, where lonely strips of asphalt wind their way
through the coyote’s backyard. Now the denizens of the desert that gave the album
its name, singer/bassist Johnette Napolitano, guitarist Jim Mankey and drummer
Gabriel Ramirez, provide a soundtrack to the scenic Southwest.
The desert’s strange beauty is reflected throughout “Mojave”, from the shadowy,
bass-driven opening track “A Road” to the sprawling soundscapes and ghostly
vocals of “My Tornado At Rest.” Spirit animals come crawling out of the arid
night, with reptiles shedding skin in “Snakes” and Johnette explaining
the mysterious desert dogs on “Hey Coyote.” The specter-like quality of the
desert’s night sky is also captured in a haunting cover of “(Ghost) Riders In The
Sky,” the old Western chestnut re-popularized by Southern rockers The
Outlaws in the early ‘80s. Standard Jewel Case.