Seasons of Your Day

Seventeen years after Mazzy Star's last album, Among My Swan, guitarist David Roback and singer Hope Sandoval return with Seasons of Your Day, an album that revisits and revitalizes their psychedelic dream-pop with a heavy acoustic presence. Recorded over 15 years in California, London, and Norway, it fulfills a fan’s notion of what Mazzy Star should be. The late U.K. folk guitar legend Bert Jansch appears on the bluesy “Spoon” as Sandoval emerges from the shadows. A church organ meets up with a low-key band for “In the Kingdom.” But it’s with the droning acoustic guitars and higher reverb count adorning “California” that vintage Mazzy Star falls into place. With all the duos and groups that have recently explored this contemplative style, it’s easy to forget that Mazzy Star (and Roback's earlier group, Opal) were among the first to make this type of black-light music, borrowing from the Velvet Underground’s quietest moments and mixing them with a Laurel Canyon mysticism. However, songs here like “I’ve Gotta Stop,” “Common Burn," and “Sparrow” should remind everyone who does it best.