Bavarian Fruit Bread

Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 23, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B00005QB7K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,963 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hope

2. Suzanne

3. Butterfly Morning

4. On The Low

5. Baby Let Me Go

6. Feeling of Gaze

7. Charlotte

8. Clear Day

9. Bavarian Fruit Bread

10. Around My Smile

11. Lose Me On The Way

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's sad. It's sparkly. It's simply stunning., June 2, 2006

By 

Manda (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bavarian Fruit Bread (Audio CD)

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making Ennui Cool Again, December 28, 2001

By 

M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bavarian Fruit Bread (Audio CD)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Its always important to have Hope, October 25, 2001

By 

William Merrill "eclecticist" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bavarian Fruit Bread (Audio CD)

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...