Mazzy Star/ Still EP
If the '90s were to be summed up in one song, Mazzy Star's smash hit Fade Into You would undeniably rank among the top contenders like Nirvana's Smell Like Teen Spirit and Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know. Released in 1994, not only did the track embody Mazzy Star's full embrace of California's jangle pop Paisley Underground, it also broke the band into the mainstream. Since then, Fade Into You has gone on to soundtrack several films and TV shows, bringing with it moments of vivid, untamed nostalgia that don't seem to age with time.
Given the massive popularity of that one singular song, it's easy to dismiss these American alt-rockers as a one-hit-wonder band. The fact that they're never in a hurry to release new materials doesn't help, either. With that said, Mazzy Star is far from being a one-trick pony. A follow-up to 1996's Among My Swan, their 2013's fourth studio/comeback album Seasons of Your Day signalled the group's sonic shift towards country and blues, yet still managed to retain much of their dreamy psychedelia roots.
Before we get to find out what's in store for their next full-length, we have here a four-track EP Still to tide things over until then. Led by founding members multi-instrumentalist David Roback and vocalist Hope Sandoval, the band start things off with Quiet, The Winter Harbor. Underpinned by Roback's pensive piano, the song highlights Sandoval's trademark vocals which feel disarmingly familiar. "Save me/'Cause I'm still sinking/And you've got a harbour," she croons. "Close to the shore/Simple/Your thoughts are swimming/I'd like to see them/When you're alone." As the chorus evaporates, the fluid slide guitar slithers in, creating a bona fide Mazzy Star moment.
That Way Again and the title track pick up where the previous track left off with the gentle acoustic guitar and Sandoval's hushed singing voice. "Your eyes are warm still/But inside you've just escaped/So let me turn around too/You turn your faded self away," she intones on the latter atop wailing violins. Closer So Tonight That I Might See is an "ascension" version of the title track of their 1993's second studio album (the same record on which Fade Into You appeared). The eight-minute rework finds them stepping up their game by incorporating sombre organ and guitar reverb into Sandoval's spoken word. This is hands down their most gnarly offering yet.
At just 18 minutes, Still EP runs a bit short. It's been five years since their last LP, so, naturally, we'd expected more. But Mazzy Star still know how to deliver so much substance with so little. They have such a sure-handed way of crafting a soundscape that's instantly recognisable. If this EP is just them rehashing the same old formula, then so be it, because let's admit it, they're absolute masters at what they do.
THE PLAYLIST
Daboyway (feat Sunaree)/ Fire
After an unlikely collaboration with molam diva Angkanag Koonchai on Kaow Ma, Thai hip-hop maverick Daboyway teams up with someone more his speed on his latest cut, Fire. That someone is one particular Sunaree, an up-and-coming UK-based, Thai-Trinidadian artist who supplies the dancehall-inspired track with a flammable chorus ("Oh boy, you got the fire/And it's burning up my heart/You're taking me higher/You're the one that I desire"). The song itself, however, sits between Ed Sheeran's Shape Of You and Luis Fonsi's Despacito, so expect it to nestle deep into your cerebral cortex.
Norah Jones/ My Heart is Full
"My heart is open/Eyes are wide/My mind is free/My hands are tied/I can see/People hurting," Norah Jones sings in the opening verse of her new single, My Heart is Full. Unlike most of her previous materials, the song gives off a solemn vibe that's far removed from the soothing piano-driven productions. Over the sparse instrumentation, Jones offers a series of stern statements ("I am standing," "I will rise," "I am human") -- a protest of some sorts. This could signal the exciting new direction of her forthcoming seventh LP.
Maggie Rogers/ Fallingwater
Dubbed a "song that celebrates rapid change and how simultaneously scary and electric it can feel," Maggie Rogers' latest offering Fallingwater is an indie-folk gem in much the same vein as her 2017's EP Now That the Light Is Fading. The song, co-produced and co-written by Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij, begins with electronica beats and piano chords. "Hold on, I thought that I could take it from here/Oh, I thought that I was calm in the clear/Now it's getting harder," Rogers' pristine voice appears seemingly out of the blue. There's a sonic ebb and flow that replicates the water theme and the chorus that neatly sums everything up ("And now I'm in the creek/And it's getting harder/I'm like falling water").
Hana Vu/ Shallow
Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Hana Vu shares with us the latest taste of her debut EP How Many Times Have You Driven By. Entitled Shallow, the track finds the 17-year-old bedroom musician traipsing the post-punk route and musing about the everyday monotony. "These are days and days and days away/I run alone, the fallen from today/Don't forget me, don't forget my name/Every day are days and days the same," she sings with the world-weary nonchalance of someone well beyond her years. Definitely one to watch.
The Internet/ Come Over
LA group The Internet return with Come Over, their first new jam since 2015's Ego Death. Lifted from their forthcoming new record Hive Mind, the song serves up a wholesome combination of funk, neo-soul and R&B. Here, Syd's sumptuous vocals paint images of a cosy, potentially sexy night in to seduce her lover. "Just want you next to me/I'll bring the champagne/Don't turn me down babe/We can play Simon Says," she coos, accompanied by slinky basslines.
