Product Description

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.

Track Listing

1. Halah
2. Blue Flower
3. She Hangs Brightly
4. I'm Sailing
5. Give You My Lovin
6. Be My Angel
7. Taste Of Blood
8. Ghost Highway
9. Free
10. Before I Sleep

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6394 in Music
• Released on: 1993-06-07
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
After Los Angeles's "Paisley Underground" movement ground to a halt, Rain Parade founder David Roback formed Opal with Dream Syndicate's Kendra Smith, whose replacement by relative newcomer Hope Sandoval gave birth to Mazzy Star. With one foot in ethereal art-rock and the other in high, lonesome psychedelia, this debut album has all the elements of the band's haunting sound. On "Before I Sleep" and "Sailing", Sandoval's vocals sound like the last bit of molasses dripping from a large, echo-laden jug, while Roback's guitar slips easily from shimmery arpeggios to earthy slides. They even rock out on "Ghost Highway" and get downright Doors-like on the title cut. And while their cover of Slapp Happy's "Blue Flower" may, er, pale before Pale Saints' version of same, this freshman effort is worth working your way back to. --Bill Forman