The new Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions new release Through The Devil Softly was much anticipated, for good reason. It marked the only release from Hope in the past eight years, the last being the first release by her and this band, Bavarian Fruit Bread, in 2001. They have released three EP's during this time, all met with limited commercial success or critical acclaim.
There is alot to celebrate here with this release. She and Colm Ó Cíosóig, drummer of the cult shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine, have taken as much time as needed to complete this project. It never seems like Hope is ever in any real big hurry to finish anything. The last Mazzy Star release, Among My Swan, was released in 1996. The cult following of this "paisley underground" staple is still relevant and active. Judging by the diverse crowd at her recent show, which I will go into further on in this posting, she continues to add new, young fans that could not have been around for her early releases with Opal and Mazzy Star. Such is the charisma and draw by so many to Hope's brilliant glow.
Now, I'll talk a little about this release. It is exactly what you might expect from Hope Sandoval in many ways, yet, it seems so fresh and new. Her voice is captivating and her delivery is impeccable. The overall appeal of this release for me is the acoustic overtones throughout the release. Very simplistic acoustic instrumentation with guitar, bass, violins and Hope on the glockenspiel, and occasional keyboards, with very minimal percussion. Sure, there's still alot of low-key electric guitar, some slide, as there is in all Hope Sandoval projects. It just seems to compliment Hope's breathy, sensual vocal style. For those into catagorizing it, alt. country or folk is as close to any styles in my mind. At the record store I manage, the database says Folk but I still put it in Pop.
"Blanchard" is the first single off of the album and I believe it was the right choice. It was one of Hope's four solo writing credited songs, even though she has writing acknowledgement on all eleven tunes.
Another favorite song worth mentioning on this release is "Satellite", the last song on the album. It starts out with waves crashing on the shore, which goes on throughout the song, and vocals as if singing into a walkie talkie. It really gives the feel of a distant time gone by. It is a beautiful way to end a most enjoyable release.
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions Live @ The Fillmore 9/26/09
This was one of my most anticipated shows in recent years. I had never been able to "see" Hope live in any of her previous incarnations with Opal, Mazzy Star or The Warm Inventions. I highlighted "see" as I really didn't get alot of anticipated visual contact with Hope or the rest of the band, for that matter, at this show. I'll go into that a little later.
First off, it was my first visit to the hallowed grounds of The Fillmore in San Francisco. Growing up in L.A., all you would hear about was the epic concerts in the late-60's at this famous venue. I was not disappointed at all! Upon entering the building, you ascend the stairs into the venue. There is a small lobby area with a few rooms for checking items, buying souvenirs, etc. To the right, is the entrance to the ground floor. It is a wooden floor in the middle and a raised stage area. Looking up, you see a second floor with large, framed window openings for people to look out of while sitting at tables. I could see that most of them were occupied even 30 minutes before the opening act was to appear.
After ascending the staircase, you enter the poster room. There was a DJ spinning in there when I met my friend and her roommate. We sat at a table and had a few drinks and admired the seemingly hundreds of framed posters from acts that had appeared there over the years. It was a varitable who's who of music royalty from all different genres. What a spectacular room!
We decided to decend onto the 1st Floor about 30 minutes before Hope appeared. This was a general admission show so I knew that I would be standing throughout. We took a spot to the far right-hand side of the floor, fairly close to the front. I could see pretty clearly over everyone due to my height. It was a nice vantage point. There were seats on the perimeter of the floor but most people were standing in the middle of the floor all the way back to the entrance doors.
When Hope and the band finally appeared, the stage was bathed in dark blue spots. The screen behind the stage throughout the show would flash abstract images in loops ranging from dancers to abstract images and even the Circus Circus sign on the Vegas Strip. It was often reversed negative imagery, sometimes it was in color and sometimes in black and white. It enhanced the overall effect of the show. The images did change every song but rarely do I recall the images matching specifically with the songs.
After the first song, I was expecting to see the lights come up and have Hope talk to the audience. This did not happen nor did it at any time throughout the show. This was really my only disappointment. I know of Hope's legendary shyness in interviews and on stage but was wishing that she would interact with the audience. Most of the interaction with the audience was her chastising someone for taking a flash photo, which was strictly forbidden. They frisked people on the way in and there were several signs forbidding photography of any kind. All of the photos that you see on this entry are from others that were able to get close enough to her to get a shot with very little light. Every once in a while, someone would yell something in between songs and she would reply, "I can't HEAR you"! To which the automatic retort of "we can't SEE you" would be bellowed by at least one of her fans.
The music was simply delightful. The band was very tight and as it was on the record, Hope's vocals were perfectly complimented by the gentle flow of the music. I had only heard the album twice all the way through before the show, since the CD wasn't released until the following Tuesday. I caught a few songs on Rubberband Girl's show on KALX, since they received a promo copy of the CD. In a way, it was nice to be introduced to many of the songs live for the first time. I enjoyed "Suzanne" from the first EP and full recording, of course. The rest of the show was great, too. As was the album, very acoustic, lo-fi, flowing and beautiful.
As I left the venue and walked back to my hotel, I was disappointed to not be able to have seen much of Hope due to the dark lighting and stage set up. I did not know how to approach this review and wanted to roll it around in my head a while before doing so. I have been onto her Facebook fan page recently to see what others thought of the shows. It seemed, like me, that there was an ambivalence in just how people reacted to the shows. In the end, I found myself defending her performance at the SF show when a fan announced their displeasure.
I had finally come to the conclusion that even though I was unable to really "see" Hope that I did enjoy the show alot. The old saying "those in glass houses should not throw stones" resonates loudly here. Eccentricity is my middle name and why should I not afford that same luxury to an artist that I admire greatly? I am proud to say that I was at this show that I am reviewing and I did enjoy it immensely...and do you know what? I would see her again and again!
Oh, by the way, the rumors are that Mazzy Star is close to releasing a new record. In her recent Rolling Stone interview, Hope said that she and David Roback are still working on their fourth release and that "We're almost finished (with the record). But I have no idea what that means." I will be keeping my fingers crossed for an early-2010 release.
K
