The first time I ever heard Hope Sandoval’s voice, it was at the beginning of “Fade Into You,” arguably the most famous song her former band, Mazzy Star, ever produced. And as she sang, “I want to hold the hand inside you,” her sultry, smoky voice seeped out of my speakers and practically infiltrated my soul, making a passive Mazzy fan an active Hope Sandoval one.
So when she started putting out music under a more eponymous moniker (Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions), it was only natural for me to latch onto it. Only I didn’t. For whatever reason, I didn’t want to taint the perfect memory of “Fade Into You.” But when her latest album, Through the Devil Softly, made its way onto my hard drive (‘cause that’s the way we do things in 2009), I begrudgingly gave it a listen. Then another. And another. Each listen less begrudging than the last.
You see, it’s hard to be steadfast in your resolve when the music on Through the Devil Softly is so damn intoxicating. The album starts with “Blanchard,” a quiet, solemn track that echoes the ambience of practically all of Hope’s catalog, this album included. And that’s not a bad thing. She does “quiet” and “solemn” so well, you find yourself getting swept up into each track, falling in love again and again as the album plays along. And when album closer “Satellite” finally ticks through its last seconds, you (if you’re anything like me) will find your pointer finger hovering over to push “play” and start the entire journey all over again.
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