Hidden Gems: Mazzy Star and She Hangs Brightly at 30

Yo Ho! WeRCatz here!

On February 24, 2020 David Roback died from metastatic cancer. He was the co-founder of the band Mazzy Star alongside Hope Sandoval. The band’s most successful album, So Tonight That I Might See from 1993, contains their most famous single “Fade Into You.”

Mazzy Star’s first album, She Hangs Brightly, was released on May 21, 1990. This album was a completely new experience when I was a kid because it was different than what was the mainstream music back then (e.g. Depeche Mode, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, etc.) Sandoval’s ghostly vocals, Roback’s slide guitar strings and the simple lyricism of the songs were comforting to me. She Hangs Brightly contains Dream Pop, Blues and Psychedelic rock. So now let’s look at a few tracks from Mazzy Star’s debut album:

“Halah” can be interpreted as a breakup song. A final argument is going on and the question that lingers is in the form of a lyric: “won’t you change your mind?”

“Blue Flower” is a cover from the German-English band Slapp Happy from their 1972 debut album “Sort Of.”

“I’m Sailin'” is a blues cover of the original made by legendary blues guitarist Memphis Minnie in 1941.

“Give You My Lovin'” has a simple meaning: your lover simply wants to love you. Every time I listen to this song, I usually sing along because the melody puts me into a dream-like trance. The guitar and base put me at ease and, because of the lyrics, I would like to find such a love that simply wants to love you for the sake of loving you.

Overall, She Hangs Brightly ranks highly on my list because, like The Cranberries, Mazzy Star was a completely new experience in music that AFFECTS me. Instead of moving my head or yell out the lyrics of songs, I keep silent and listen to the song as a whole experience. There is nothing complex on the lyrics of the album: they were simple and engaging. Modern mainstream music has forgotten these types of lyrics that engage the listener to FEEL the song as a whole and not a few specific notes.