Customer Reviews

She Hangs Brightly

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My best friend Tony and I piled ourselves and our surfing gear into his old Fiat to begin the hour-long drive to the beach for a day of surfing He says, "here,I'll take care of the music", and puts in a cassette of someone called Mazzy Star. I'm not one of those people who makes snap judgements about music, for better or for worse. Whatever the end result may be, There are a few exceptions, and She Hangs Brightly ended up to be just such an exception. No more than 90 seconds into Halah, the opening track, I found myself saying to Tony, "Who is this?? I REALLY like this....whoever it is."

So that was the first day I ever heard the completely unique sounds of Mazzy Star, and I can still recall the exact moment well over 10 years later.

I went on to spend the entire decade of the '90s calling Mazzy Star one of my favorite bands whenever the topic came up in conversation. Even though I give this one five stars, I actually prefer the other two a bit more I think, particularly So Tonight That I Might See, their second release. There's just something about that album. It's like their sound overall...I can't really put my finger on it. Maybe that's the whole point. Yes, Hope Sandoval's blissfully enchanting voice has alot to do with it. And as much as she no doubt hates hearing it, it was easy to fall in love with her vicariously through her dreamy vocals. But a sexy frontwoman alone does not a great band make. The musicianship of the rest of the band is equal in its ability to enchant the listener. In other words, Mazzy Star was always more than just a pretty face. The band had an elusive quality about them, an element of mystery. You can get lost in their music. If you were a drug user, you no doubt spent many memorable moments letting the swirling sounds overtake you and your senses (and I suppose an equal number that aren't so memorable). While I've done my share of experimentation, I always found Mazzy's music plenty powerful to put me into that special state of mind even when stone cold sober. One just needs to be in an introspective mood (and a good pair of headphones doesn't hurt). This isn't the sort of album you put into your Walkman when heading out for a jog though, clearly.

Recalling my first exposure to this wonderful band - seemingly now defunct - is a pleasant memory. If you've read other reviews of their albums, you should by now have an idea whether or not Mazzy Star is up your alley. If you have even the vaguest feeling that it is, don't hesitate to give them a try right away.

I first heard this CD by accident. I went to a thrift store and bought a blank tape with "mix tape" scrawled on it by its previous owner, and decided to buy it and let the contents surprise me. That's the best 25 cents I ever spent. First, I heard "Holah" which I had heard before; and after hearing their dreamy vocals, I wondered why I never bought any of their CDs before. I never knew such a small detail like the subtle clash of the tambourine could really make the difference on a CD. But it's Mazzy Star's attention to detail on this CD that makes it such a masterpiece. It's smooth and emotionally intrusive at the same time--which makes it a perfect CD to accompany a contemplative drive or a thoughtful evening. And the tape from the thrift store wore out quickly...so I bought the CD.

I have to agree with J.Chadwick.

This entire CD is very melodic and groovy with a psychedelic feel to the songs. I love how entrancing Hope Sandoval's voice is combined with the resonating chords on the guitar and keyboard. I think of the 3 Mazzy Star CDs, this is my least favorite, but it is still very excellent. I highly recommend "Among My Swan" and "So Tonight That I Might See," which I play to wind down to after a long day, or as someone else mentioned...it's great for making out to! Whenever I just want to chill out with a good drink, I usually put Mazzy Star, Pink Floyd, or The Doors in the CD player.

Mazzy Star's first album is a venture into a world of psychadelic rythms and distorted guitar riffs. However, the authentic sound provides for an album full of deep, dreamy, and sometimes dark, songs. Most notably of all the songs on this album is "Give You My Lovin'", which is a little more upbeat than the average song on this album. All in all, She Hangs Brightly is a great album from a band that has strayed from the norm and created a sound that makes them not only unique and refreshing, but also very enjoyable. I strongly recommend this album.

Mazzy Star's brand of tambourine pop isn't terribly compelling on the first listen, since it's all mellow and swirly and gentle. Nary a pop hook or goofy sentiment can be found. But "She Hangs Brightly" has an odd quality of sinking into your brain and making you feel almost as mellow as the music.

The first few songs sound a bit too similar, except for the roaring guitar riff in "Blue Flower." Then things stray into psychedelic turf in the spacey "She Hangs Brightly," followed by the vaguely tropical "I'm Sailin'," pleasant "Give You My Lovin'," the distant and slightly eerie "Taste of Blood," echoing and creepy "Ghost Highway," and finishing off with the soft "Before I Sleep."

Psychedelica. Blues. Folk. They don't usually go together, but they mesh in a moderately successful way here. "She Hangs Brightly" is simply sweet blues-folk-psychedelica-pop without pretensions. It's not outstanding or earthshattering, but it does make you drift away on its sweet melodies.

Guitar and a tambourine are the center of the music -- again, things that don't seem to go together. The electric guitar is a constant dark presence behind the vocals, swirling and growling constantly; the acoustic guitar adds a more organic sound to songs like "I'm Sailin'." And then the tambourine gets hit about every two seconds, on average.

Hope Sandoval has a lovely voice, very soft, childlike and clear. At times she sounds like a folkier version of Sundays frontwoman Harriet Wheeler; the biggest flaw with it is that sometimes her voice sounds strangely metallic. And the songwriting itself has either a sweetly Southern flair, or a wistful quality ("She hangs brightly from the tree/Wonders what she's done to me...")

Mazzy star's "She Hangs Brightly" is a pretty, folky little album with angelic vocals and some nice tambourine/guitar pop songs. A pleasant listen.

Of all the albums I've listened to of Mazzy Star, none could compare to the beauty and diversity of "She Hangs Brighty". 'Halah' could not be a better song for the opening track on the disc and 'I'm Sailin' is fun and tender. On this album each song is seperate and created in itself, and not co-evolved. As with many songs Mazzy has written, many of them have coevolved together. There is almost a synergy to it, a weakness. But this album proves that Mazzy's ultimate first release was infact the BEST, as each song has a different subject matter, with many different endings. That is what I love so much about this album/recording. I encourage you to listen to this album before you buy it, so I can prove to you that it is WORTH it!

Their 2nd album may have become more popular, but this will always be my favorite. It came out my senior year of high school, and I can't count the times I sat in my car at night, in the park with a cigarette, listening to this album. I was probably wishing she was singing to me. It's hard to think of comparisons, but if you crossed a mellow "Cowboy Junkies", with a psychedelic "Verve", you'd be pretty close. "Halah" is a great opener, and the song that made me pick this up. I actually caught the video on MTVs 120 minutes. "Give You My Lovin'" and "Free" are other favorites of mine. Their two following albums are both as great, as is "Hope Sandovals" solo album "Bavarian Fruit Bread". All of them go well with incense, rain, and candles.

I bought this record on a whim about five years ago. The hypnotic sound of Hope's voice and the dreamy guitar work combine to create a sensual, erotic feel. I like all of Mazzy Star's records, but this is the best, in my opinion.

Mazzy Star were basically a duo of guitarist David Roback and singer Hope Sandoval. This set features the groups first 2 CD's "She Hangs Brightly" (1990), and "So Tonight That I Might See" (1993).

This is such a great set, apparently it just became available over the summer, I have all 3 Mazzy Star CD's along with a solo Hope Sandoval CD, so I'm a huge fan of the vocalist and her style, very laid back, folksy, part goth, almost a lazy feel to her vocals; great for late night listening under a full moon perhaps or any day you wanna relax a bit and enjoy some great music.

Hard for me to pick favs, as each song seems to offer something new. I like every song on both CD's basically. "Fade Into You" is probably the most recognizeable song on the set, but there are so many others like "Blue Flower", "Ride It On", from the debut; and "Five String Serenade", "Mary Of Silence", "Blue Light", and "She's My Baby" on the second CD that are perhaps favs. Both CD's have a very psychedelic, folksy sound like said, but to me they were pure early 90's alternative, like stuff you would hear in a dark club late at night along with the other alternative type/goth stuff of the days.

Very atmospheric, slow, sometimes disconnected songs that always have a way of letting you in and wanting to hear another. A Song like "She Hangs Brightly" is a great example of that I think, at nearly 6:30 in length, it manages to keep a gothic, dark resonance to it that sometimes makes you wish the jam could go on and on. It's followed by "Sailin", which shifts to an old fashioned bluesy feel, like something Janis Joplin might have belted out, but Sandoval just glides it along so effortlessly, it just feels like your traveling somewhere.

Mazzy Star is certainly my favorite band, so I'm pleased to give this five stars, yet I wouldn't consider "She Hangs Brightly" my favorite of their albums. I prefer the consistency of "Among My Swan", but maybe "She Hangs Brightly" has the most memorable moments. This being their first album release isn't bad at all.

The first song I have to mention here is "She Hangs Brightly." It's one of the most trippy, haunting, and mind-blowing songs I've heard. This is the standout track to me. It's over six minutes of psychedelic meandering music and vocals. Hope going on and on about "She hangs brightly from the tree" with the eerie, sometimes even circus sounding, organ music is quite creepy and mad but still very entrancing.

"Halah", "Give You My Lovin'", and "Be My Angel" are all quite pretty love songs about, well of course, love and heartbreak. There's a wistful, bluesy sound present in a lot of Mazzy Star music, and this album often presents that mood of longing and despair. These songs truly capture it.

It's not all sad and downtempo, though. "Ghost Highway" is pretty cool. They pick up the beat here a little more with the drums, guitar, and organ. It leans more on the psychedelic rock side of Mazzy Star.

I'd have to say the downfall with this album is that it isn't entirely consistent, but still it's an overall good listen. Even though there is no single bad track here, I still rarely find the ability to listen to this album straight through without skipping over a couple tracks.

I must point out that the album art for this one is great. The album cover perfectly captures a sense of darkness and mystery, and I even framed the cat illustration that's on the inside.