“Halah” by Mazzy Star

Last Monday we lost David Roback to cancer. He was the guitarist, songwriter and founding member of Mazzy Star.  He was also a one-time bandmate of Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) and a prominent figure within the Paisley Underground music scene of southern California; a scene that gave homage to 60’s psychedelia, and one that Prince drew influence from when he named his Paisley Park Record label.

I never got into Roback’s previous band Opal, but after listening to “Halah,” I couldn’t ignore Hope Sandoval’s bitter sweet dreariness, or Roback’s nearly perfect guitar performance. Three years later, after they released their follow up album So Tonight That I Might See, I was in love. Here was a record perfectly tempered for self-serious make out sessions or gin and tonic stir sticks.

David Roback and Mazzy Star will not just be remembered for their timeless single “Fade into You,” but because they dodged the corporately sponsored “counter culture” mosh pits of the 90’s and were there for the melodramatic and lovesick.