Two new Mazzy Star albums will soon return to vinyl. New physical editions of guitarist David Roback and singer Hope Sandoval’s 1990 debut She Hangs Brightly and 1996 record Among My Swan are available for pre-order now.
Originally intended to be the second studio album from Opal, the first band Roback and Sandoval played together in, She Hangs Brightly arrived in May 1990 on Rough Trade Records. It featured tracks like “Ghost Highway,” “Be My Angel,” “Free,” and the Slapp Happy cover “Blue Flower,” which reached No. 29 on the Billboard Alternative chart.
Although it experienced minimal chart success, the record helped establish Mazzy Star’s singular dusty, dreamy alt-rock sound. It was a key precursor to the success of their multi-platinum second album So Tonight That I Might See, which featured “Fade Into You.” In fact, the popularity of “Fade Into You” helped catapult She Hangs Brightly single “Halah” to No. 19 on the Billboard Alternative chart, four years after its release. Before his death, Kurt Cobain listed She Hangs Brightly among his top fifty of all time.
Released in 1996, Among My Swan is Mazzy Star’s third studio album. It built on the well-received So Tonight That I Might See and saw the group contribute to the soundtracks of two well-received films. Batman Forever featured the album-outtake “Tell Me Now,” and the Liv Tyler-starring Stealing Beauty included “Rhymes Of An Hour.”
Among My Swan also earned the group their highest-charting single ever across the pond: “Flowers For December,” written by Sandoval. It reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for two weeks—it was accompanied by a music video directed by Kevin Kerslake.
Mazzy Star released their most recent new LP, Seasons Of Your Day, in 2013. They also shared a live album, Ghost Highway, in 2020.
Order Mazzy Star’s music on vinyl now.
