Among My Swan

''Among My Swan'' is the third studio album by American band Mazzy Star, released on October 29, 1996. Although ''Among My Swan'' did not contain any US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits like its predecessor, '' So Tonight That I Might See'', this album garnered the band its highest-ranking single on the UK Singles Chart, when " Flowers in December" reached No. 40 in November 1996.

''Among My Swan'' relied less on the echo effect that was nearly ubiquitous in all tracks on the previous two albums. Hope Sandoval's voice is paired with simple acoustic instrumentation that marks most of the tracks. The guitar and harmonica accompaniment on "I've Been Let Down" is an explicit example of this. These tracks are not markedly different in sound or feel from the preceding two albums.

"Flowers in December", "Disappear", "Happy" and "I've Been Let Down" were all released as singles from the album. Following the release of "I've Been Let Down" in 1997, Mazzy Star went on hiatus, and did not release new music until the single "Common Burn"/"Lay Myself Down" in 2011.

Release and promotion

The band opted to eschew mainstream promotion for the record, with Capitol Records taking what they described as a "long-term approach" towards its marketing. An outtake from the album, "Tell Me Now", appeared on the soundtrack to ''Batman Forever'' in 1995, while album track "Rhymes of an Hour" featured on the soundtrack to ''Stealing Beauty'' prior to the album's release. A senior marketing director at Capitol called Mazzy Star "the quintessential artist-development band. David and Hope are artists. Every album they make is a work of art"; ''Billboard'' noted that both films "nicely bookend Mazzy Star's demographic, with ''Batman Forever'' appealing to the collegiate crowd and the critically acclaimed, art-house ''Stealing Beauty'' skewing toward the band's baby boomer fans."

Music stores were given advance copies of the album from early September; the label conducted a contest where the store which best promoted the album would be rewarded with a live performance from the band. The entire album was serviced to college radio on October 7, and lead single " Flowers in December" was issued to Alternative and Triple-A stations the following week. The duo appeared on the October 1996 cover of ''Alternative Press'', and a music video for "Flowers in December" was completed that same month. The song remains the duo's only song to enter the top forty of the UK Singles Chart. "I've Been Let Down" was scheduled to be issued as the album's second commercial single in the spring of 1997, but was released solely as a limited edition 7" vinyl in October 1996 as a double A-side with album track "Roseblood".

Commercial performance

The album peaked at number 67 on the ''Billboard'' 200. As of 2001, it has sold over 214,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

* David Roback – guitars, keyboard, songwriter, producer, audio engineering, album design
* Hope Sandoval – vocals, harmonica, percussion, songwriter, co-producer, album design
* William Cooper – strings, audio engineering
* Jill Emery – bass
* Keith Mitchell – drums
* William Reid – additional guitar on "Take Everything"
* Aaron Sherer – drums on "Take Everything" and "Still Cold"

Production

* Beth Herschaft – photography
* Eddy Schreyer – mastering
* Dale Everingham – engineer
* Tom Cashen – production crew

Usage in media

"Happy", "All Your Sisters", and "Look on Down from the Bridge" are featured in the 2005 film ''Down in the Valley''.

"Look on Down from the Bridge" is featured during a funeral scene and over the end credits of the 1999 ''The Sopranos'' episode " Meadowlands", in the 2011 film '' Texas Killing Fields'', and when the title characters bury their dead alternative-dimension selves in the 2014 ''Rick and Morty'' episode " Rick Potion No. 9".

Charts

References

Notes

Citations

{{Authority control

Mazzy Star albums
1996 albums
Capitol Records albums