When Hope Sandoval, sultry-voiced singer-songwriter with Mazzy Star, needed a fresh perspective for her new spin-off project the Warm Inventions, she didn’t have to travel to India, make an ill-advised concept album or, most heinous of all, reinvent herself as a dance diva. Having spent over a decade performing at Mazzy Star gigs with her eyelids welded firmly together, too scared to face her audience, the notoriously shy singer simply opened her eyes to the world.

“Lately I’ve become really inspired by people,” she whispers. “Having lunch and watching the next table and having a fantasy about what they think and feel – it’s something that everybody has the opportunity to do if your eyes are open when you’re out in the street or in public.”

Though everyone may enjoy a spot of people-watching, very few share Hope Sandoval’s panoramic vision. And while most would view the minor relationship trauma of the couple at the adjacent table with the interest afforded to an Eastenders outtake, Sandoval’s imagination takes her to the smoke-filled set of a black and white movie where every fleeting glance is laden with meaning.

It is this ethereal, otherworldly flavour that turned Mazzy Star into goth-folk giants and which Sandoval has built on for the evocative Bavarian Fruit Bread, the product of her collaboration with Colm O Ciosoig, ex-My Bloody Valentine drummer. Together, under the guise of the Warm Inventions, they created an album of eleven sensual, skeletal ballads that pillage the school orchestra supplies cupboard and stamp all over the sheet music. An off-kilter blend of cello, guitar and harmonica overlaid with Sandoval’s sleepily seductive vocals, the hypnotic vibe of Bavarian Fruit Bread is a testament to Sandoval’s comfortable partnership with O Ciosoig.

“I met Colm about four years ago in London. We spent a lot of time together there and in San Francisco. We got to know each other really well and became friends and then eventually we started to write songs together. It’s a very relaxed partnership. We work well as a team and he really inspires me.”

If Sandoval feels particularly proud of Bavarian Fruit Bread it’s because she was at the helm when it came to songwriting duties.

“With the Warm Inventions I wrote most of the songs whereas in Mazzy Star it was mostly David [Roback]. I think a lot of the songs have a joyous, peaceful feeling and I think Colm feels the same.”

Despite having already appeared on records by the Chemical Brothers and the Jesus and Mary Chain and with new collaborations in the pipeline, there’s no danger of the Mazzy Star singer becoming starry-eyed.

“I did some work for the next Death In Vegas record and I’ll be going back into the studio soon to finish up the next Mazzy Star project. But mostly I’m just enjoying living in San Francisco. I feel very fulfilled at the moment and I think it comes across on the record. At the moment my days are pretty much taken up with doing rehearsals, seeing my friends, going to the movies and going for coffee. A perfect day for me here in San Francisco is when the fog rolls in.”