Flowers in December

"Flowers in December"
Single by Mazzy Star
from the album Among My Swan
B-side
  • "Tell Your Honey"
  • "Hair and Skin"
  • "Ride It On" (live)
  • "Had a Thought"
ReleasedOctober 21, 1996 (1996-10-21)[1]
Length4:56
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • David Roback
  • Hope Sandoval (co-production)
Mazzy Star singles chronology
"Halah"
(1995) 		"Flowers in December"
(1996) 		"I've Been Let Down"
(1996)

"Flowers in December" is a song by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star, released in October 1996 as the lead single from their third studio album Among My Swan. It was written by Hope Sandoval and David Roback, and produced by Roback.[2] "Flowers in December" reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for two weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Kevin Kerslake.[3]

Critical reception

[edit]

Upon its release, Music & Media named "Flowers in December" their "single of the week" and commented, "David Roback and Hope Sandoval's dreamy acoustics have become even more poppier with gorgeous melodies, plenty of minor chord changes and a delicate violin whispering in the background."[4] Kristy Barker of Melody Maker picked it as one of the magazine's "single[s] of the week" and stated that it "nearly manage[d]" to "move [her] as much" as Mazzy Star's "Fade into You" and "Blue Flower". She continued, "Strings that sound like sighs back Sandoval's forlorn [voice], but then a great honking mouth organ comes in and spoils it all". She was more positive towards the "Delicatessen-like" "Hair and Skin", noting she "fell in love" with the track, which is "all fuzzy guitars and stop-start minor-chord organ, and Hope, sounding more desolate than ever".[5]

In a review of Among My Swan, Chris Molanphy of CMJ New Music Monthly commented, "...amid Hope Sandoval's wispy voice and David Roback's plinking guitars, there's a brightness trying to emerge. You hear it in the chimes that ring over "Disappear," and in Sandoval's wistful harmonica on "Flowers in December."[6] In a 2013 retrospective on the band's career, Emily Mackay of New Musical Express considered the song "lovely but not the album's best moment".[7]

Track listings

[edit]

UK CD1 and 7-inch single[8][9]

  1. "Flowers in December" – 4:56
  2. "Tell Your Honey" – 4:31
  3. "Hair and Skin" – 3:42

UK CD2[10]

  1. "Flowers in December" – 4:56
  2. "Ride It On" (live) – 3:09
  3. "Had a Thought" – 2:24

European maxi-CD single[11]

  1. "Flowers in December" – 4:56
  2. "Tell Your Honey" – 4:31
  3. "Hair and Skin" – 3:42
  4. "Ride It On" (live) – 3:09

Personnel

[edit]

Mazzy Star

  • Hope Sandoval – vocals, harmonica, co-production
  • David Roback – guitar, production, engineering
  • William Cooper – strings, engineering
  • Jill Emery – bass
  • Keith Mitchell – drums

Additional personnel

  • Dale Everingham – engineering
  • Eddy Schreyer – mastering
  • Andy Caitlan, John Eagle – sleeve photography

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 61
Scotland (OCC)[13] 26
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 40

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 19, 1996. p. 37.
  2. ^ Ned Raggett (October 29, 1996). "Among My Swan - Mazzy Star | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  3. ^ "Mazzy Star - Flowers In December (1996)". IMVDb. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "M&M Music: New Releases – Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 45. November 9, 1996. p. 11.
  5. ^ Barker, Kristy (October 26, 1996). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 47. ISSN 0025-9012.
  6. ^ "CMJ New Music Monthly - Google Books". CMJ Network. December 1996. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  7. ^ Emily Mackay (September 26, 2013). "A Beginner's Guide To Mazzy Star". NME. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Mazzy Star (1996). Flowers in December (UK CD1 liner notes). Capitol Records. CDCLS 781, 7243 8 83327 2 9.
  9. ^ Mazzy Star (1996). Flowers in December (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Capitol Records. CL 781, 7243 8 83327 7 4.
  10. ^ Mazzy Star (1996). Flowers in December (UK CD2 liner notes). Capitol Records. CDCL 781, 7243 8 83328 2 8.
  11. ^ Mazzy Star (1996). Flowers in December (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Capitol Records. 7243 8 83312 2 7.
  12. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 45. November 9, 1996. p. 24.
  13. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
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