Bavarian Fruit Bread
Encyclopedia
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. Interestingly, "Suzanne" — as well as an unknown number of other songs found on the album — is said to pre-date even the formation of Mazzy Star in 1988 by at least two years when it was written by Sandoval while she was still part of the folk duo Going Home with Sylvia Gomez.
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.
Many of the positive reviews focused heavily on Sandoval's vocals, 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." 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. Alternative Press described the album as "consistently intriguing, haunting and above all, very good," before giving the album a 9 out of 10 score.
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."
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."
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." The album was released exactly six weeks after the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York.
Hope Sandoval
Hope Sandoval is an American singer-songwriter who is the lead singer for Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions....
, former vocalist of Mazzy Star
Mazzy Star
Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Monica, California, in 1989 from the group Opal, a collaboration of guitarist David Roback and bassist Kendra Smith...
, and Colm Ó Cíosóig, former drummer of My Bloody Valentine, released under the name Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions is an independent alternative/dream pop band composed of Hope Sandoval from the dormant band Mazzy Star and Colm Ó Cíosóig of My Bloody Valentine. Their first album Bavarian Fruit Bread was released in 2001. Bass player Alan Browne from Irish band Dirt Blue Gene...
on October 23, 2001 by Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
in the United States and on November 5, 2001 by Rough Trade
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
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
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
in both the US and UK. Interestingly, "Suzanne" — as well as an unknown number of other songs found on the album — is said to pre-date even the formation of Mazzy Star in 1988 by at least two years when it was written by Sandoval while she was still part of the folk duo Going Home with Sylvia Gomez.
Seminal folk musician Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
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
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a 1970 Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens and David Warner.Set in the desert of Arizona during the transitional period when the frontier was closing, the movie follows three years in the life of Cable Hogue, a failed...
, 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
At the Doorway Again
At The Doorway Again is the debut EP 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 11, 2000 by Rough Trade.-Tracklisting:...
EP, which was released over a year before its parent album.
The album debuted and peaked at #39 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart.
Critical reception
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.Many of the positive reviews focused heavily on Sandoval's vocals, with Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
stating that "the glacial tones and chimes that The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
modelled on "Sunday Morning
Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)
"Sunday Morning" is a song by The Velvet Underground. It is the opening track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. It was also released as a single in 1966 with "Femme Fatale".-Recording:...
" are invoked with absolute perfection. Yet even beyond this, Sandoval's sedated, spellbound voice remains a remarkable presence." 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. Alternative Press described the album as "consistently intriguing, haunting and above all, very good," before giving the album a 9 out of 10 score.
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
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
] 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."
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."
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." The album was released exactly six weeks after the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York.
Tracklisting
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
October 23, 2001 | Sanctuary Records | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
06076-83201-2 |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
P-VINE Records | CD | — | |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
November 5, 2001 | Rough Trade Records | CD/LP Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
RTRADECD/LP-031 |
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
February 5, 2002 | EMI International | CD | — |
| Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... |
May 7, 2002 | Avant Garden Records | 2-CD Deluxe Edition | AG-031 |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
September 28, 2009 | Nettwerk Nettwerk The Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Management, Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk One Publishing, Nutone Records, and Artwerk. With over 150 employees, the Vancouver-based company has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Nashville, and Hamburg... |
11-track CD reissue | 5-037703-087026 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
September 29, 2009 | Nettwerk | 11-track CD reissue | B002L430K0 |
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Billboard Top Heatseekers | 39 |
Personnel
- Hope Sandoval — vocals, guitar, keys, glockenspiel, harmonica and backing vocals
- Colm Ó Cíosóig — drums, bass, guitar, keys and backing vocals
- Alan Browne — bass on "Drop," "On the Low" and "Around My Smile"
- Jill Emery — bass on "Bavarian Fruit Bread"
- Julian Goldwhite — guitar on "Bavarian Fruit Bread"
- Arve Henrickson — trumpet on "Lose Me On the Way"
- Bert Jansch — guitar on "Butterfly Mornings" and "Charlotte"
- Paul McQuillan — guitar on "On the Low" and "Around My Smile"
- Ji-Young Moon — cello on "Feeling of Gaze"
- Nicole Presley — backing vocals on "Drop"
- Mike Prosenko — guitar on "Drop"
Credits
- Produced by Hope Sandoval and Colm Ó Cíosóig
- Engineered by Colm Ó Cíosóig, Heige Sten and Scott Campbell
- Mixed by Heige Sten, except "Drop" mixed by Mads Bjerke
- Mastered by Audun Strype
- Sleeve design by Mike Prosenko
- Photography by Luz Gallardo
- Film stills by Elise Collins