Susanna Hoffs
The Lost Record
Baroque Folk Records
In 1999, Susanna Hoffs was in an introspective mood. She had a new baby at home and was contemplating who she was outside the Bangles. She invited friends over to workshop songs in her garage studio. Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, and the Go-Go’s Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin all dropped by to lend a hand.
The music on The Lost Album is quiet folk tunes and chamber pop minimalism. “Who Will She Be,” a love song to her infant daughter, is completed with a small string section. “I Will Always Love You” is a more fleshed-out chamber pop rune in the mode of The Left Banke. “November Sun” is a pretty acoustic strum, with the message that things get better (November rain eventually turns to November sun).
Caffey and Wiedlin co-wrote “Life On The Inside” with Hoffs. The song is set to a lovely chamber orchestra while Susanna sings about being a ghost. The song has some of the lushest production on the album.
I don’t know why this album was shelved at the time of its recording. It probably wasn’t Bangles-ish enough for the record company, or maybe it was just too personal. The Lost Album shows Susanna at an introspective time in her life, with songs reflecting vulnerability, doubt, and at their core, optimism.
