Search - Hope Sandoval :: Bavarian Fruit Bread

It's sad. It's sparkly. It's simply stunning.

Manda | North Carolina | 06/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the music, Hope Sandoval's vocals, the album art, and the album cover of "Bavarian Fruit Bread" combined, this has to be my single favorite album. Hope, whether it was when she was with Mazzy Star or went solo with this project, has easily become my favorite vocalist. How could anyone not be drawn to that adorable voice? What's really great about this album is that her vocals become even more of a focal point on "Bavarian Fruit Bread." And what's different about the music here is that rather than the psychedelic bluesy sound of Mazzy Star, there's more of a low-key, folksy approach through the use of acoustic guitar, harmonica, and the glockenspiel. Simple, sparkly, and gorgeous. I wish all music was this good.



I remember hearing "Suzanne" for the first time. I was not yet familiar with Hope, but that song was the beginning to my adoration of dream pop and shoegaze music. What really stood out was the gentle tinkling of the glockenspiel on this track accompanied with Hope and Colm murmuring "Suzanne". There's a certain shimmering, subdued beauty about this entire album that gently pulls you in and keeps you warm and intoxicated with its relaxing and somber nature. It's so easy to just sit back and lose yourself in this kind of music. Of course this isn't the most uplifting or upbeat music I've heard, but there's so much beauty to discover and appreciate in the lethargic dreaminess here.



The only fault I see in this album is the slight mix-up of song titles. I find they're sometimes listed differently, so here's my version:

1. Drop

2. Suzanne

3. Butterfly Mornings

4. On the Low

5. Baby Let Me

6. Feeling of Gaze

7. Charlotte

8. Clear Day

9. Bavarian Fruit Bread (instrumental)

10. Bavarian Fruit Bread

11. Around My Smile

12. Lose Me on the Way



I consider the standout tracks to be "Bavarian Fruit Bread", "Clear Day", "Suzanne", and "Charlotte." All tracks are impressive, though, and it's quite consistent. I can't guarantee you'll love it, but I hope many have been able to enjoy this album as much as I have. Melancholy was never so beautiful before. Whether it makes me want to smile or cry at all its beauty, I just feel pleased to have come across an album created by all very talented musicians."

Making Ennui Cool Again

M. JEFFREY MCMAHON | Torrance, CA USA | 12/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These songs are languid, sensuous, swathed in ennui and melancholy. All the songs are woven by the same magical fabric, a quality I like in an album (as opposed to a hodgepodge). To make the album all the more wonderously tormenting, Hope Sandoval's persona, sad and smoky, is very attractive, irresistable even. Additionally, I admire the album's absence of gimmicks. The album's appeal lies in its melancholy sensibility and Hope Sandoval's dolorous voice."

It?s always important to have Hope

William Merrill | San Antonio, TX United States | 10/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Such a great pleasure to hear Hope Sandoval's ghostly voice again! It's been more than half a decade since the last Mazzy Star CD, but now's a good time to hear from her again. The immortal MazStar tune "Fade Into You" has been receiving airplay again on TV this year, creating a demand for new music from Hope, and here it is. This new CD features a very stately and soft kind of folk music, meaning the songs are all down tempo, primarily just Hope's voice accompanied by Colm O Ciosoig on guitar. Colm's guitar playing is rather slight, a fact which becomes painfully apparent when Brit-folk legend Bert Jansch joins them on two tracks for some much more intricate guitar lines. Hope's singing is the highlight, though, that wispy, breathy thing of wonder you can just wrap yourself up in and get lost for hours..."