Among My Swan

Mazzy Star: Hope Sandoval (vocals, harmonica, percussion); David Roback (various instruments, guitar, keyboards).

Additional personnel includes: William Reid (guitar). AMONG MY SWAN features the same swirling, psychedelic folk music that brought MAZZY STAR mainstream success with 1993’s SO TONIGHT THAT I MIGHT SEE. The songs employ the sparse arrangements and dark sense of space first explored by bands like Big Star (on THIRD/SISTER LOVERS) and the Velvet Underground. But with tunes that are always accessible, and sometimes irresistible, Mazzy Star has brought this dreamy ballad sound up from the underground. David Roback provides a shimmering backdrop of slide guitar and organ for Hope Sandoval’s mesmerizing vocals. Smooth as honey and wispy as tumbleweed, Sandoval’s haunting voice traps the listener in a celestial trance. AMONG MY SWAN never lapses into the self-indulgent side of psychedelia; the music is always kept muted and close to its folk and blues roots. This is an album of beautiful mood music that flickers in the shadows. What the critics say… Entertainment Weekly (11/08/96, p.68) – “…Where Hope Sandoval’s haunting vocals darken the duo’s third album with a vast and pleasing loneliness, David Roback’s fuzzy country guitar draws a sharp edge around songs that might otherwise drift…” – Rating: A- Q (12/96, p.138) – 3 Stars (out of 5) – “…(they) borrow elements from country, folk, West Coast psychedelia and the Mary Chain’s brand of feedback, but their blueprint remains Sandoval’s coy, deadpan voice, a listless tambourine and Roback’s fluent picking…“ Option (1-2/97, pp.95-96) – “…David Roback and Hope Sandoval’s idealized encapsulation of ’60s psychedelia and folk actually transcends any of the music it draws upon….probably Mazzy’s best album…”