Though you may not have heard of
Kristian Hoffman, a lot of people in the music industry have, and with this release
Hoffman has tugged on a few of his connections to reel in a veritable cornucopia of guest stars for this album of duets -- thus the title,
&. The proceedings are varied: both sweet and sad (such as "Get It Right This Time with
that dog.'s
Anna Waronker and the track "Scarecrow" with
Rufus Wainwright), upbeat ("Devil in My Care" with
Russell Mael of
Sparks matching
Hoffman note for falsetto note), beautiful (the track "Revert to Type" features gorgeous string arrangements from industry legend
Van Dyke Parks), and camp (...well, pretty much everything on the album, but the surf-tinged "Madison Avenue" with
El Vez and the guest appearance from
Pee Wee Herman...er, make that Paul Reubens...probably fit the bill best). That's not even mentioning great team-ups with
the Three O'Clock's
Michael Quercio,
Maria McKee of
Lone Justice,
Lydia Lunch, or
Ann Magnuson. From start to finish, it's a tour de force of classic pop songcraft matched up with inspired collaborators. Right at the beginning of the album,
Hoffman claims that he's "...gonna put the 'ooo' in the human condition," and there's certainly a good share of ooos, aaahs, and even eees on
&. This is definitely one of the nicest surprises of 2002.