Muruch

Eight years after her solo debut, former Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval’s long-awaited sophomore solo album Through The Devil Softly will finally be released on September 29th. It was well worth the wait. Backed by The Warm Inventions (featuring My Bloody Valentine’s Colm O’Ciosoig), the driving force behind this new album is unquestionably Hope Sandoval’s unique voice.

Written and recorded over the past two years in Northern California and Ireland’s Wicklow Mountains, Through The Devil Softly is much more reminiscent of Mazzy Star’s last two releases than it is of Sandoval’s debut solo effort. While Bavarian Fruit Bread garnered rave reviews from critics, I was personally unimpressed by it. I thought the arrangements lacked the spirit needed to balance out the languid tone of Sandoval’s vocals.

But that’s not a problem with this new disc. Like Mazzy Star’s So Tonight That I Might See and Among My Swan (two of my favorite albums of the 1990s), Through The Devil Softly blends mellow dream pop melodies with the kind of mesmeric baroque instrumentation that brings out the more sensual side of Hope’s voice. This could be due to the presence of Mazzy Star keyboardist Suki Ewers and cellist Ji Young Moon.

The Mazzy Star style is particularly apparent in the echoing molasses of “Wild Roses.” Hope practically purrs in the sexy Lynchian noir number “Trouble”, and delves deeper into delicious psychedelica in “For The Rest of Your Life.” Other songs marry hints of retro Laurel Canyon warmth with a faint brush of modern dream pop.

Hope Sandoval – Blanchard (mp3 expired) *

*mp3 provided by & posted w/ permission of Nettwerk Music

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Hope Sandoval Official Site