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Release Date: September 29, 2009 Label: Nettwerk Records Related Sites: · Official Site Grade: B-

I'm pretty sure if you opened up a dictionary on Futurama and looked up the word "ethereal," somewhere in its definition would be "like Hope Sandoval's voice." The chanteuse of Paisley Underground dream pop has been singing barely above a sensual whisper for two decades, and don't look for that to change on her newest release, Through the Devil Softly.

Collaborating with David Roback as Mazzy Star, Hope rose to prominence with the breakthrough hit, "Fade Into You," in 1993.  The band went dormant after three albums, She Hangs Brightly (1990), So Tonight That I Might See (1993), and Among My Swan (1996), and Hope went on to work with a various of artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack, Air, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Through the Devil Softly floats out of the speakers like an airy wisp of carnal hypnotism. The atmospheric arrangements blend with Hope's haunting purr to forge an otherworldly mysteriousness. It's a laid-back affair, to be sure, yet there are subtle variations in the minimal instrumentation that add to its appeal.

The opener, "Blanchard," doesn't really prepare you for what's to come.  With one other exception, it's probably the most conventional in style, with shimmery folk ambience that belies the fact you will soon be entering a realm of soupy darkness. "Wild Roses" truly begins the brooding manner of presentation, with Hope's erotic delivery echoing over the simple acoustic guitar, brush drums and, eventually, harmonica. This tune originally saw life on a compilation CD from Air France titled In The Air.

And then that mood is broken by "For the Rest of Your Life" with an annoying and repetitive scale-traversing bass line. To its credit, the combination of discordant guitar stabs and Glockenspiel give it an entrancing touch of psychedelica, but as a whole the results are unnerving. The middle portion of the disc falls into a mellow trance of acoustic guitar with cello accents. "There's a Willow" plugs in the guitar, giving it a classic old style sound, kind of like Les Paul at quarter speed.

The enchanting voice of Hope Sandoval returns for more introspection after an eight-year hiatus.

Musicians:

Hope Sandoval: Vocals
Colm Ó Cíosóig: Drums
Alan Browne: Bass
Charles Cullen: Guitar & Slide
Dave Brennan: Guitar
Paul McQuillan: Guitar
Mick Whelan: Piano
Nigel Cullen: Drums
Ji Young Moon: Cello
Suki Ewers: Keyboards
Sylvia Gomez: Backing Vocals

"Trouble" literally wakes you up as the fading strands of harmonica ebb from the previous track with its orthodox drum backbeat and dolent slide guitar.  It remains a gothic ballad with Hope's trippy vocals roaming in and out of consciousness. "Fall Aside" adds a banjo to the background instrumentation for a nice mix-up, and the album concludes amid the manufactured sound of crashing waves, with Hope's voice filtered in a far-off manner to emulate the sound of a vintage record.

Through the Devil Softly is the ultimate in background music. With no solid melodies to grasp onto, it tends to all run together as a soundtrack to countermeasure insomnolence.  Lyrically, you're never quite sure what she's saying, other than an overall sense of dolorous melancholy. At times, it seems like she struggles to sing in tune, as if the effort is unbearable. Her delivery is so breathy that she often doesn't completely finish pronouncing words -- they just drift off into nothingness.  And despite the remarkable musicianship on display, that is the perceived destination of Through the Devil Softly once the CD player is turned off.