I could write what I know about Mazzy Star on the back of a beer mat. It would say American band, that would be it.
A quick look on the internet informs me that the two main people were Dave Roback and Hope Sandoval with various musicians playing on their four albums. Roback sadly died in 2020 so whether the group are still a going concern is debatable.
So, the usual three listens for an album I do not know and from the first moment I heard Hope’s vocals I was in. She has the most laid-back delivery I have heard that fits perfectly over the ten tracks.
Fade Into You is their most famous song and opens the album it is atmospheric and beautiful in equal measure, this is your place to start if, like me, you have never heard of them. Very few bands write songs as good as this.
However, then go to Wasted, Roback goes to town on his guitar five minutes of slashing and riffing that never lets up, an equal to Hope’s haunting vocals.
Mary of Silence is a simple organ played throughout and with light drums and guitar to hook you in, listen to with the lights off and Blue Light makes me want to watch a David Lynch movie.
So Tonight That I Might See ends the album on a perfect note with the same riff hypnotising us as Hope talks us through to the end.
A stressful day and needing to chill and unwind then this maybe the album for you.
7.5/10
GIVE IT A STREAM: Fade Into You
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