Bavarian Fruit Bread

Bavarian Fruit Bread
Studio album by Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions
Released October 23, 2001 (2001-10-23)
(see release history)
Recorded 2000 in Oakland, London & Oslo[1]
Genre Alternative rock, dream pop, folk
Length 49:24
Label Sanctuary (U.S.)
Rough Trade (U.K.)
Producer Hope Sandoval
Colm Ó Cíosóig
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions chronology
At the Doorway Again (EP)
(2000)
Bavarian Fruit Bread
(2001)
Through the Devil Softly
(2009)

Bavarian Fruit Bread is the debut album from Hope Sandoval, former vocalist of Mazzy Star and Colm Ó Cíosóig, former drummer of My Bloody Valentine, released under the name Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions on October 23, 2001 by Sanctuary Records in the United States and on November 5, 2001 by Rough Trade in the United Kingdom.

"Suzanne," the album's first and only official single, became a minor hit, with its accompanying music video, directed by Elise Collins, receiving heavy rotation on MTV2 in both the US and UK. A few songs on the album, including "Suzanne", pre-date the formation of Mazzy Star.[2]

Seminal folk musician Bert Jansch performed guitar on two songs found on the album, "Charlotte" and "Butterfly Mornings," the latter being a cover of a song found in the 1970 film The Ballad of Cable Hogue, where it appeared under its original title of "Butterfly Mornings and Wildflower Afternoons." A large portion of "Butterfly Mornings" was used in an advert for Irish TV channel Setanta Sports during Christmas period 2009.

The Japanese and Australian releases contain a thirteenth track, "Sparkly", as a bonus track; it is identical to the track of the same name that appears on the accompanying At the Doorway Again EP, which was released over a year before its parent album.

The album debuted and peaked at #39 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

Critical reception

"Feeling of Gaze"
"The song captures the moment of eye contact when two people realize their lust is mutual." Lori Miller Barrett, neumu.net

"Around My Smile"
Described as a "psychedelic soul romp" by Pitchfork Media's Nathan Rooney.

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Alternative Press[4]
ArtistDirect[5]
Drowned In Sound[6]
E! Online[7]
Mojo[8]
Neumu.net[9]
NME[10]
Pitchfork Media(5.6/10)[11]
Spin[7]
Uncut[7]

Initial critical response to Bavarian Fruit Bread was generally positive. According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75 out of 100, based on 15 reviews.[7]

Many of the positive reviews focused heavily on Sandoval's vocals,[7] with Q magazine stating that "the glacial tones and chimes that The Velvet Underground modelled on "Sunday Morning" are invoked with absolute perfection. Yet even beyond this, Sandoval's sedated, spellbound voice remains a remarkable presence."[12] Lori Miller Barrett, in an overwhelmingly positive review of the album for neumu.net, stated "it's magical and mysterious, compelling and complex," before giving the record a 10 out of 10 score.[9] Alternative Press described the album as "consistently intriguing, haunting and above all, very good," before giving the album a 9 out of 10 score.[4]

Nathan Rooney from Pitchfork opened his review with the personal assessment that he had "begun to grow tired of the Mazzy Star formula before [the group] dissolved," and that without a solid shift in theme and sound from that of her previous work with Mazzy Star, Bavarian Fruit Bread ended up sounding like "a narcissistic and self-paroding record." However, the opening three tracks and the "gorgeous" Charlotte were singled out for particular praise. Also given a positive summation was the track Around My Smile which, despite being described positively as "psychodelic [sic] soul romp," was ultimately dismissed as being "uncreative." The two instrumental pieces were described as "attempts to break new ground," but again were dismissed for "adding nothing [new] to the course of the album."[11]

Allmusic, whose review — along with the review from Pitchfork — was among the most critical, complimented the album's use of "child-like bells, cello and piano, alt-country electric and chamber-bare acoustic guitar and harmonica gasps," but ultimately dismissed the "minimal" backing tracks as "unsatisfying" and summarized the album as "[not particularly] compelling, striking or affecting."[3]

The November 2001 issue of Mojo magazine commented that "[there] is a narcotic quality to these drifting ballads, one that perfectly suits these shell-shocked, terrorised times. As the world gears up for the Apocalypse, I shall take comfort in Bavarian Fruit Bread -- a very haunting, beautiful record."[8] The album was released exactly six weeks after the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Drop"  William Reid 2:32
2. "Suzanne"  Sandoval 4:51
3. "Butterfly Mornings"  Richard Gillis 3:34
4. "On the Low"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig, Alan Browne, Paul McQuillan 5:09
5. "Baby Let Me"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 1:32
6. "Feeling of Gaze"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 3:26
7. "Charlotte"  Sandoval 4:31
8. "Clear Day"  Sandoval 6:08
9. "Unlisted "Clear Day" Reprise"  Sandoval 1:18
10. "Bavarian Fruit Bread"  Sandoval 4:07
11. "Around My Smile"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig, Browne, McQuillan 4:38
12. "Lose Me On the Way"  Sandoval 7:42
13. "Sparkly" (Japanese/Australian Bonus Track)Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 2:32
Total length:
51:57
Taiwanese Bonus Disc (AG-031)
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Sparkly"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 2:23
2. "Down the Steps"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 3:44
3. "I Thought You'd Fall For Me"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 4:55
4. "These Things"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 3:02
5. "Friends of A Smile"  Sandoval, Ó Cíosóig 2:45
Total length:
16:56

2009 reissue

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States October 23, 2001 Sanctuary Records CD 06076-83201-2
Japan P-VINE Records CD
United Kingdom November 5, 2001 Rough Trade Records CD/LP RTRADECD/LP-031
Australia February 5, 2002 EMI International CD
Taiwan May 7, 2002 Avant Garden Records 2-CD Deluxe Edition AG-031
United Kingdom September 28, 2009 Nettwerk 11-track CD reissue 5-037703-087026
United States September 29, 2009 Nettwerk 11-track CD reissue B002L430K0

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Norwegian Albums Chart[14] 40
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers[15] 39

Personnel

Credits

References

  1. A New Hope Rises: Mazzy Star's Sandoval makes a solo statement www.hopesandoval.com. Access date: February 3, 2011.
  2. "Hope Sandoval Breaks Bread" www.rollingstone.com. Access Date: 21st January 2010.
  3. 1 2 http://www.allmusic.com/album/r557923 AllMusic Review] www.allmusic.com. Access date: January 5, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Alternative Press. Dec 2001 issue. p. 96. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ArtistDirect Review www.artistdirect.com. Access date: January 5, 2011.
  6. Drowned In Sound review www.drownedinsound.com. Access date: January 5, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bavarian Fruit Bread Info" www.metacritic.com. Access Date: January 21, 2010.
  8. 1 2 Mojo Magazine. Bauer. Nov 2001 issue. pp. 86–87. ISBN 0-06-098746-4. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. 1 2 Neumu Review www.neumu.net. Access date: January 5, 2011.
  10. NME Review www.nme.com. Access date: January 5, 2010.
  11. 1 2 Pitchfork review www.pitchfork.com. Access date: January 5, 2011.
  12. Q Magazine. Nov 2001 issue. p. 41. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. Topic: Bavarian Fruit Bread CD re-issue is missing a song! Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. www.mazzystar.nu. Access date: January 2, 2011.
  14. "norwegiancharts.com - Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Bavarian Fruit Bread". Verdens Gang. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
  15. "Hope Sandoval - Awards : AllMusic". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
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