From Beneath the Bridge

Tonight's song is a mysterious one from an enigmatic band.  My ears came upon "Look on Down from the Bridge" by Mazzy Star.  Like many of Mazzy Star's songs, more emphasis seems to be placed on sculpting the ambience for the listener.  Meditating on the music can put you in somewhat of a trance as you close your eyes and immerse yourself in the music.

Through the 80's and their 90's heyday, the music would create a tranquil field of ambient of sound as the Hope Sandoval would shyly sing into the mic.  In the years since, Sandoval, her long-time collaborator (David Roback), and the rest of the band occasionally release some news, of sporadic shows or contributions to another artist's album.  There are these times of dormancy and hiatus.  There had even been a mystique in their web presence.  They've posted two tweets in during their three years on Twitter, and have an online shop.  It was the end of 2015 when Mazzy Star started posting on their Facebook page more frequently.  It may just be me, but in a way (neither good or bad) Mazzy Star has a unique approach.

So, "Look on Down from the Bridge" was from the 1996 album Among My Swan.  The main component is an organ-like keyboard accented by the bass.  A drum steadily keeps time as the electric guitar intermittently sings in the distance.  It primes this canvas of an illusion as Sandoval asks you to look down from the bridge at fountains and feel the rain falling from the limitless sky.  She describes space between the listener and all these elements.  It's toward the end where I'm trying to find a deeper understanding of Sandoval's participation in this vision.  Throughout most of the song, the listener is able to imagine a vast space around the bridge they're standing on.  It sounds as if Sandoval is calling up from beneath the bridge, relating to the listener, anticipating a time when they can be together

This description may sound a little different from my other two posts.  Rest assured that I wrote this while under the influence of nothing else but the complete album's music pouring through my headphones and gently affecting my vivid descriptions.