 Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions I wonder if Hope Sandoval ever breaks into laughter when laying down a vocal track, struck suddenly by the hilarious cliché of her voice. It must get funny after awhile to sing in that sleepy, breathy, childlike style, right? It's like when someone walks into a Hard Rock Cafe wearing a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt: just so perfectly, ridiculously perfect. That said, do I want her to sing like Joan Osborne? No way. At the Doorway Again is, so far, the most satisfying disc to hear the Sandoval sound. Mazzy Star, at their best, were amazing, but keep in mind that they were only at their best on like two songs. Perhaps Hope Sandoval is simply best taken in small doses, like absinthe or television. Four songs, all the same tempo, and probably the same key. Lazy, waft-in/waft-out tracks, lots of space, lots of atmosphere, lots of spacey sexiness. "Around My Smile" and "Down the Steps" are both from the full-length Bavarian Fruit Bread, then there's "Charlotte" and the barely-there-but-in-a-good-way "Sparkly." "Down the Steps" is my fave track – sounds like a cross between an immediately-post-John's-death Yoko Ono demo, Rosanne Cash's Interiors, and just short of an overdose of GHB. It's an opium den of an EP. Find yourself a dirty mattress and settle in – but leave quickly once the fix starts wearing off and your problems return.
Review by Forever Salima |