''She Hangs Brightly'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal (band), Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal ...

. It was released on May 21, 1990, by

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

and re-released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

later in the year. The song "Ghost Highway" is featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 film "Love and a .45."

Release and promotion

"Blue Flower" was released as a single and reached number 29 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart. Four years later, "Halah" reached number 19 on the same chart after the success of "

Fade into You "Fade into You" is a song by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star from their second studio album, '' So Tonight That I Might See'' (1993). The song was written by lyricist Hope Sandoval and composer David Roback, who also served as produc ...

Music

Ben Cardew of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' observed: "Hope Sandoval’s

hypnagogic Hypnagogia is the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep, also defined as the waning state of consciousness during the onset of sleep. Its corresponding state is '' hypnopompia'' sleep to wakefulness. Mental phenomena that may occur duri ...

whisper and Roback’s velvety guitar tones create a ..late-night atmosphere, tempered by songs that borrow from the vivid musical austerity of early

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

." The album showcases the band's trademark effect with haunting guitar work and lyrics, and

Hope Sandoval Hope Sandoval (born June 24, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, and the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. She has also toured and collaborated with other artists, including the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ma ...

's detached vocals.

David Roback David Edward Roback (April 4, 1958 – February 24, 2020) was an American guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as a founding member of the alternative rock band Mazzy Star. Early life and education Roback was born on April 4, 1958, an ...

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and " ...

-inspired psychedelic blues

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

style can be heard on the song "Free". "Ghost Highway" is another psychedelic rock track, with a fast rhythm. This song dates from the band's days as

Opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

and was initially slated to be the title track of Opal's second album. "Blue Flower" is a

Slapp Happy Slapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group, formed in Germany in 1972. Their lineup consisted of Anthony Moore (keyboards), Peter Blegvad (guitar) and Dagmar Krause (vocals). The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merg ...

cover from the 1972 album ''

Sort Of ''Sort Of'' is the debut studio album by the avant-rock band Slapp Happy. It was recorded in Wümme, Bremen, Germany in May and June 1972 with Faust (band), Faust as their backing band, and released on LP by Polydor Records in 1972. In 1980 Re ...

''.

Artwork

The album cover is a shot of the interior of

Hôtel Tassel The Hôtel Tassel (; ) is a historic town house in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by Victor Horta for the scientist and professor Emile Tassel, and built between 1892 and 1893, in Art Nouveau style. It is considered one of the first buil ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Critical reception

In a review for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'',

Gina Arnold Gina Arnold is an American author, music critic, and academic. A lecturer at Stanford University and an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco, she is the author of four books, including the 33⅓ book on Liz Phair, ''Exile in Guyvil ...

praised ''She Hangs Brightly'' as being "coldly beautiful".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Jason Ankeny described Hope Sandoval's vocals as "more sultry" than those of Opal's

Kendra Smith Kendra Smith (born March 14, 1960)Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, is an American musician who was a founding member of The Dream Syndicate, a member of Opal, and later recorded as a solo artist. Biography Smit ...

and praised "Halah" and "Blue Flower" but criticized the album's lack of focus, calling the remaining tunes "unmemorable".

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

listed ''She Hangs Brightly'' in his top fifty albums of all time. In 2018, ''

'' ranked the album at number 29 on its list of the 30 best

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

albums, calling its atmosphere "gorgeous."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''She Hangs Brightly'' adapted from album liner notes. Musicians *

William Cooper William Cooper may refer to: Business *William Cooper (accountant) (1826–1871), founder of Cooper Brothers * William Cooper (businessman) (1761–1840), Canadian businessman * William Cooper (co-operator) (1822–1868), English co-operator * Wil ...

*Suki Ewers *Sylvia Gomez *

Keith Mitchell Keith Claudius Mitchell (born 12 November 1946) is a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 1995 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2022. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Grenadian history, holding the office for mo ...

*Paul Olguin *

Technical personnel *David Roback – production *Merlyn Rosenberg – photography *Mazzy Star – cover design *Eddy Schreyer – mastering

Charts

References

{{Authority control Mazzy Star albums 1990 debut albums Capitol Records albums