Return to the Bayou: Mazzy Star's Languid Reunion

Mazzy Star

I think I discovered Mazzy Star the same way that most people did - on the radio.  It was 1993, and "Fade Into You" was an alternative radio hit.  The first time I heard David Roback's otherwordly slide guitar and Hope Sandoval's breathy vocals, I was hooked.  I went right out and bought "So Tonight That I Might See", which is a CD that still gets frequent usage in my home.  I liked the so much that I got the first album, "She Hangs Brightly".  (It is still my favorite Mazzy Star album, and the first track, "Halah", is still my favorite song.)  This music was smoky and languid.  I loved it.  Mazzy Star came out of the neo-'60s scene in Los Angeles, and their slightly hippie vibe always appealed to me.  But after a third album in 1996 (that I have never listened to), they disappeared.

So seventeen years later, Mazzy Star is back with a new record - "Seasons Of Your Day".  And they are better than ever.  One of the things that I appreciate about Mazzy Star is their straight up refusal to make music on the terms of the industry.  They have artistic integrity, and it shows.  This is straight up folk and blues.  Here an acoustic guitar, and there maybe an organ or a slide guitar.  This music creates a fog on the bayou with morning sunlight making cobwebs with the opiate, lazy drawl of Sandoval's voice.

This is definitely mood music.  Play it in your kitchen, or outdoors working on your garden, like I did yesterday.  Just don't play it while you drive.  It is so sleepy that you might gladly go off the road!

The best song on here is definitely the plaintive "California", which is also the primary single off this collection.  My other favorites are "Lay Myself Down" with its country western twang, "Spoon" with its great acoustic sound, and "Flying Low" which could easily be featured on the TV show "Justified".  I can feel the knots and tight muscles in  my neck and back loosening as I listen to these homespun songs.

This collection is an awesome reunion for a group that meant so much to me in the '90s.  So kick off your shoes, plant your weary bottom on a rocking chair, and let your body rock to these mesmerizing sounds.