Scarred (Hybrid) was originally put together by a trans-Atlantic collective known as Catfish Scar, but has been released under Johnette Napolitano’s name.
It is, arguably, the most cohesive and invigoriating release she’s had since her band, Concrete Blonde, first broke up in 1995.
Her smoky vocals wear an edge of anxiety, frustration, resignation, giving the album an intimate, raw feel despite its sensitive arrangements.
The squeak of guitar strings is audible on My Diane and a confessional cover of Coldplay’s The Scientist (used on the Wicker Park soundtrack), yet the sparseness is rounded out with gentle backing voices, thumping drums, a jangle of electric guitar. But it is on the title track, reeking of despair and loss, that the album hits its emotional peak.
The Velvet Underground’s All Tomorrow’s Parties is also given a hollow treatment, fitting perfectly on this evocative outing.
Poem for the Native embraces Napolitano’s love of the desert and aboriginal peoples, combining funk and tribal in a smooth fusion, enhanced by the spoken word approach.
Save Me is a desperate ode to the hurricane ravaged city of New Orleans; Everything for Everyone shows anger at modern consumerism; I’m Up Here is sung from the point of view of a god, wondering where in the hell he went wrong as he watches all the self-destructive folly unfolding on earth.
Missing someone? Wanting someone? Tune in to Crazy Tonight and feel your aching heart beat in time.
From the explosive instrumental on the otherwise genteel Like a Wave, to the swagger of Just Like Time, each of the twelve tracks has its own identity, standing out from its fellow yet fitting neatly in its place.
CB guitarist Jim Mankey produced many of the tracks, and one-time CB drummer Gabriel Ramirez also contributes.
The result is an engagingly honest album, and a definite high point in Napolitano’s career long and undervalued career.
Johnette on MySpace
Catfish Scar on MySpace
