CONCRETE BLONDE”Mexican Moon” Capitol* * 1/2The five-song...

CONCRETE BLONDE

“Mexican Moon”

Capitol

* * 1/2

The five-song stretch that ends this album shows why Concrete Blonde has been one of L.A.’s most promising acts for years. From the hopeful “Close to Home” and the playfully defiant “One of My Kind” to the wistful concluding reprise of the title track en espanol , it’s a shimmering showcase of Johnette Napolitano’s vocal command and emotional range. But what precedes that stretch is a case study of a band that in the studio has only occasionally lived up to its tremendous potential.

Napolitano writes about extremes--chronicling highs and lows, loves and hates, joys and sorrows, contentment and turmoil--and at its best her band’s music has reflected that stance with blends of howling fury and haunting ambience. Lyrically this is a mixed bag, with such highlights as “(Love Is a) Blind Ambition” more than balancing such low points as the labored social observation of “Jonestown.” But musically this album stays squarely, ponderously in the middle.

Perhaps in compensation, Napolitano resorts to vocal overstatement and gimmickry, while the arrangements follow suit with excessive, fussy ornamentation. By the time they burst through in that fine closing stretch--which also includes a gorgeous version of Roxy Music’s “End of the Line”--it’s too late.

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