"You're still walking around the block," observes Hope Sandoval on Mazzy Star's newest, to which we all — despite the promising green sprigs of spring making their way out of the branches — sigh and think, "Yeah."
It's not a reflection of any malaise we're holding necessarily — though it could be understandable — but the way Sandoval takes us over, makes us sympathize. Her voice has unmoored itself from the passage of time, it seems, and will forever remain a spell for summoning foggy sunrises. Go back and listen to "Blue Light," from the 25-year-old So Tonight That I May See, and see if your ears recognize any difference between the two whispers; the way she slides, like a drop of water on a leaf or a window, up and down the final syllables of her lines.
A fun thought exercise is to try and put someone else's voice over Mazzy Star's music and see if it makes any sense. Take the last song the group released, "I'm Less Here," and imagine like, Ariana Grande's voice over it. Try to hear a "proper" singer's precision over its skeletal melody and tip-toe pacing... and then just sit back and be glad you don't have to.
"Quiet, The Winter Harbour" comes from Mazzy Star's upcoming EP, Still, being released June 1, the same month the group will perform in Sydney, Australia.
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