After vocalist/bassist Kendra Smith departed the Dream Syndicate, she paired up with her Paisley Underground peer guitarist David Roback (of the revered group the Rain Parade) to form Opal. When Smith abruptly left Opal, the act morphed into Mazzy Star, while she retreated to the woods of Northern California, shunning most modern conveniences. She resurfaced briefly in 1995 with one solo album for the 4AD label, the moody FIVE WAYS OF DISAPPEARING, before following one of those ways and returning to the wilderness.