Bloodletting is Concrete Blonde’s third album and stands as some of the band’s best work. It’s largely a breakup album, written primarily by frontwoman Johnette Napolitano in the wake of a serious heartbreak. Johnette is an incredible writer and the emotional turmoil under which she wrote Bloodletting only emphasizes that fact. She made lemonade–gut-wrenching lemonade to be played loud.
The album’s opening track is strange, but I’d follow Johnette anywhere. “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” brings you right into its world: an eerie, portentous New Orleans night. It is menacing but not uncomfortable. Ironically, Johnette says that the song was meant to be a “lighthearted romp around New Orleans.” While it rests on bouncy, propulsive instrumentals, the song is far from lighthearted. It’s more of a dark, pensive constitutional taken to avoid engaging in other, more illicit activities.
In both sound and theme, it is the perfect introduction to the album. It’s like Johnette took us with her on the walk where she collected her thoughts for the coming tracks. The song’s vampire theme is only a metaphor. The underlying message details a story about her lost lover who drained her of her happiness. She recalls a time of vitality and joy which are now things of the past: “They used to dance in the garden / In the middle of the night.” An earlier version of the lyrics shows even more longing: “They were naked as the day they were born / Skin and bone–china white.”
“The Sky is a Poisonous Garden” is one of the weaker songs. It can be taken metaphorically or literally. Either way, it seems to catch Johnette thinking about a specific encounter with her previous lover. It offers some insights about the relationship–that its end was imminent and it was loathed by outsiders. The song also quotes Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” with an implication that the lovers are never to meet again. It is of course well-written and thematically interesting, just less bulletproof than others on the record.
“Caroline” is stunning. This is where Bloodletting really lights up. It also marks a thematic shift as it is a break from Johnette’s autobiographical writing. In this song, an unidentified narrator sings directly to Caroline. It seems like it’s from the perspective of an old friend, as it begins with the narrator stating what she’s heard about Caroline versus what she knows about her. It’s been a while since they’ve known each other, but she gets her. The lyrics are completely unselfish. The narrator just wants Caroline to find peace: “In another life I see you / As an angel flying high.” It’s so sincere that it’s heartbreaking. Behind its striking story, the track boasts a great sound with awesome guitar from James Mankey and serious vocals from Johnette.
“Darkening of the Light” begins slowly, offering a necessary respite after the emotionally-demanding “Caroline.” It’s a cool song, smooth and quick. It’s functional too, as it returns the album to its original theme with the heartbroken Johnette as the narrator. The song summons the first two tracks, first by referencing the dampened happiness and garden dancing from “Bloodletting.” It then calls upon “Poisonous Garden” by evoking the Poe-esque ghostly presence of her ex-lover.
With “I Don’t Need a Hero,” Johnette acknowledges the complications of the relationship but holds that the couple made each other whole. In a lapse of angst, she says, “I got to give a lot of me away / But the part with us will never be for sale.”
“Days and Days” is an energetic rock song with a great bassline opener played by the multitalented vocalist herself. Mankey’s guitar also delivers on this one with a fascinating background sound and a strong solo appearance about halfway through. The music dances with loud, confident vocals in a release of pent-up energy after the two previous mild songs.
“The Beast” is assertive. It feels like it starts without you. It’s already deep into this big metaphor before you’ve even realized “Days and Days” is over. Around the time you catch up is conveniently when the lyrics become clear. “The Beast” is a series of angry comments about love, which Johnette personifies as a duplicitous antagonist.
The next track tames the beast. “Lullabye” is precisely what its title promises. It’s light and sweetly nostalgic. The strategic misspelling of “lullaby” implies closure–specifically, the release of Johnette’s fury. This transition paves the way for the coming masterpiece that is “Joey.”
“Joey” is the perfect love song. It’s love and understanding in hindsight. It is devoid of pretense: “If I seem to be confused / I didn’t mean to be with you.” By now Johnette has proven that she’s tough as nails and lets herself surrender a little bit: “And when you said I scared you, well, I guess you scared me too.” It’s big. It’s heavy. It’s like a shedding of armor; a deep, loud, raw peace offering. The band leaves everything on the field as they near the finish of Bloodletting. Mackey’s guitar wails out a beautiful, loaded solo following Johnette’s cutting first delivery of the words, “Joey, I’m not angry anymore.” It’s just the kind of song that grabs your guts and tangles them right up.
Bloodletting’s closer is a rough listen. “Tomorrow, Wendy” has a lovely sound but tells a tragic story that no heart can handle so soon after “Joey.” It is an important piece, though. Written by Andy Prieboy of Wall of Voodoo, “Tomorrow, Wendy” is a story about a woman dying of AIDS. It’s a departure from the rest of the album in sound and sentiment. Prieboy’s lyrics are complex and intriguing, paying somber respects to Wendy then expressing doubt and disdain for a world that would allow her such peril.
Bloodletting is nearly flawless. As Johnette confessed during her New Orleans stroll, she had some kinks to work out. The album is a 10-track run of her and the band doing exactly that. In case those 42 minutes were not enough (and they weren’t), the Blonde released a 20th anniversary edition of Bloodletting in 2010 featuring a collection of bonus tracks. It includes an expertly-executed cover of “Little Wing” and a half-French version of “Bloodletting” that’s even more bizarre than the original. Concrete Blonde are masters of the uncharted. They make what everyone wants but few can imagine.
