Mazzy Star have announced their first album in 17 years. Seasons Of Your Day, a fourth LP by the 1990s dream-pop act, is due on 24 September.
All of the band's original members appear on the record, led as always by singer Hope Sandoval and guitarist David Roback. Seasons Of Your Day also includes appearances by folk icon Bert Jansch, who died in 2011, and My Bloody Valentine drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. Recorded in Norway and California, it's described as "music for lovers, music for broken hearts".
On 16 July Mazzy Star released the album's lead single, California. Sandoval's dusky voice is as unmistakable as ever, singing wistful voices over strident acoustic guitar and some late-breaking bongos. "I think I hear the bells ringing in the square," she murmurs. "California, oh California."
Although Mazzy Star haven't released an album since 1996's Among My Swan, they reunited for a 2011 single and played a series of concerts in 2012. The band plan to mount a full North American and European tour this fall.
Despite two Top 50 albums, Mazzy Star have remained a cult act instead of breaking through to the mainstream. Sandoval has collaborated with artists including the Chemical Brothers, Air and the Jesus and Mary Chain, and was invited to perform at two All Tomorrow's Parties festivals, curated by Jim Jarmusch and Matt Groening.
