Everyone remembers Mazzy Star for their Buzz Bin jam, “Fade Into You.” They overlook that the LA band was one of the greatest bands of the 90s. The evidence is obvious in this Black Session recorded 20 years ago in Paris. Seeing that I’m a sucker for any group who reminds me a little of early Mazzy Star (see also: the first two Beach House albums), I’m smoking all my opium in anticipation of the forthcoming record from Boardwalk. I am mainly joking about the opium. I could probably get DMT faster than I could get opium, which is probably for the best anyway. I have seen the movie From Hell. Twice.
“I’m to Blame” is the first official release from the LA-based duo of Mike Edge and Amber Quintero. Off the strength of this and several other songs, it earned them a deal with Stones Throw. The full-length debut drops later this summer, but this is something to be savored now. There is echo and reverb and wraith-like seductive vocals. It feels like it was written to soundtrack the final montage scene in a movie. I see tears, slow-motion running, and the slow sepia fade. If I were a music supervisor, this would send me to speed dial (if that even still exists). This is ideal for slurred late nights and awkward swoons. It is the song voted most likely to cause someone to take their girlfriend behind a liberal arts college and get them pregnant.
