POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Mazzy Star: A Vivid, Uncompromising Set

Utterly miscast for something as extroverted as performance, singer Hope Sandoval and the rest of Mazzy Star played on their own introverted yet uncompromising terms Tuesday night at the Coach House.

Forget stage patter, or even thank-yous to acknowledge applause (of which there was a great deal, and deservedly so). Mazzy Star made not a sound between songs, except for the deep sigh Sandoval let out at one point.

Lacking the personality to do anything overt, Mazzy Star quietly wove a dreamlike, fragile web as Sandoval sang with a rare blend of detachment and intensity, of clarity and soft-focus haziness.

The desires and longings in her songs came through with the vividness of truly felt emotion. But there was a distance in her performance, something opiated in her drawl that suggested a removal, for the sake of self-preservation, from the passions conveyed. The playing was as nuanced and detailed as the singing.

Certain songs borrowed obviously from the psychedelic Doors and the early Kinks, but if the set had a familiar ring, it was mainly because the band almost exactly replicated its recordings. One could have had nearly the same experience by staying home, turning off all the lights, and putting on the albums. But live or on record, the Mazzy Star experience is one well-worth having.