Hope Sandoval takes her time. The former Mazzy Star singer not only sings songs in the slowest of tempos, but she releases albums nearly decades apart. Through the Devil Softly is the 2009 follow-up to her 2001 release Bavarian Fruit Bread, and once again, she teams up with My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm O’Ciosoig for a collection of tunes that sound like the sort of hypnotic ballads one might expect to hear in the tense, quiet moments of a horror film. Her voice remains dream-like, draped in reverb, words blurring with the sound of repetitive guitar lines and odd instruments that clock in behind the haunted folk melodies. “For the Rest of Your Life” sounds like a nightmare coming true. “Wild Roses” captures a sweet melody Cat Power would die for. “Lady Jessica and Sam” further emits from a deep well of reverb and sorrow, while “Sets the Blaze” comes closer to the surface with its somber tone. “Trouble” shocks the system with actual drums leading the charge.