Susanna Hoffs

Someday (Baroque Folk)

Susanna Hoffs has been busy in the studio for the last couple of years. The Bangles released a pretty good record in 2011 with Sweetheart Of The Sun and a new collaboration with Matthew Sweet Under The Covers Vol. 3 is due later this year. In between she has made this fine solo album: her first in sixteen years.

Produced by Mitchell Froom (Crowded House/Suzanne Vega), Someday is written, in the main, by Hoffs and guitarist Andrew Brassell. The opener, November Rain, was resurrected from a past life and Raining was originally written with Mike Campbell back in 1989: before being re-written for this album after being found languishing on a cassette.

Littered with strings, horns and vintage keys, the real star of the show is Hoffs’ voice.  The record harks back to the classic girl records of the late sixties (Dusty et al) as well as Bacharach or even the Left Banke, but it’s still quintessentially Hoffs in the modern era. The opener, November Rain, is a grower … as is the closer, True. In between the record is bright and immediate. Froom’s production is flawless and the songs themselves are right out the top-drawer. Subtle, beautifully arranged and full of hooks: it’s the kind of album you’ll be humming all afternoon. It’s hard to pick favourites, but Picture Me, One Day and Regret all sit alongside Hoffs’ best work. Welcome back Susanna!

[rating: 4/5]

Mitchell Peters