One thing you know for sure with a new Hope Sandoval album: the roof won't come off. That was the case with , with which she made some addictively beautiful CDs in the 90s. And this is still the case with her current backing band. Still, on this third album with The Warm Inventions - in fact drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig - new sounds do sound: keyboard drones and tom-tom drums in the stately opener
… Into The Trees, a harp in the like A Wonderful Seed, handclaps in the 'lavish' I Took A Slip. But only in Let Me Get There - a nice languid duet with Kurt Vile, who sings as Forgetful Jan from - we hear something you can bring along. Because that is also Sandoval: the songs are usually in the shadow of the atmosphere. Mazzy Star often referred to the films of , but Until The Hunter (a text fragment from Treasure) is largely lacking that subcutaneous tension. What remains is a solid album where it is a good hour to relax. (RME)more
