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MAZZY STAR

This dark and dreamy psychedelic band pairs former Rain Parade and Opal guitarist Dave Roback with vocalist Hope Sandoval. Drawing primarily from the swirling, textured drone of such 60s groups as The Velvet Underground and The Doors, Mazzy Star also incorporates blues, country, and pulsing acoustic folk elements, creating a highly textured and luminous amalgam. The band's auspicious debut, "She Hangs Brightly" is a rich, atmospheric bag of tricks. Such songs as "Halah", "Ride It On", and "Be My Angel" emphasise the duo's folk-pop origins but add layers of effect-drenched guitar and intimate, pristine production to achieve gorgeously ethereal results. The title track and "Ghost Highway" are more blues-based and recall the simmering and evocative ethic of heavy acid-rock. Sandoval's languid, earthy vocals are the perfect foil for Roback's lysergic explorations, and "She Hangs Brightly" is undoubtedly the band's finest moment.

Mazzy Star

Among My Swan

"Among My Swan" features the same swirling, psychedelic folk music that brought Mazzy Star mainstream success with 1993's "So Tonight That I Might See". The songs employ the sparse arrangements and dark sense of space first explored by bands like Big Star (on "Third/Sister Lover") and the Velvet Underground. But with tunes that are always accessible, and sometimes irresistible, Mazzy Star has brought this dreamy ballad sound up from the underground. David Roback provides a shimmering backdrop of slide guitar and organ for Hope Sandoval's mesmerising vocals. Smooth as honey and wispy as tumbleweed, Sandoval's haunting voice traps the listener in a celestial trance. "Among My Swan" never lapses into the self-indulgent side of psychedelia; the music is always kept muted and close to its folk and blues roots. This is an album of beautiful mood music that flickers in the shadows.

Mazzy Star

So Tonight That I Might See

Combining the considerable talents of guitarist Dave Roback (Opal, Rain Parade) and Hope Sandoval's sultry, heavy-lidded vocals, Mazzy Star fuses blues, country, and pulsing acoustic folk in a dark psychedelic mix that recalls the Velvet Underground and The Doors. The group's highly textured, atmospheric sound emerged glittering and fully formed on the debut "She Hangs Brightly", surprising listeners with its moody yet accessible mix. "So Tonight That I Might See" sticks close to the ground staked out by its predecessor, though with no less success. "Wasted" moves insistently down the twelve-bar road to nuanced, snarling guitar embellishments. "Blue Light" is smoky, blue-eyed (if black-hearted) soul. Of particular note is the cover of Arthur Lee's "Five String Serenade", graced with lilting cello and tambourine accompaniment. Roback's electric/lysergic guitar explorations and Sandoval's blusey, lazily erotic sigh weave a deeply evocative spell, making "So Tonight That I Might See" a perfect 2:00AM album.


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