Description
Mazzy Star & Opal’s Kendra Smith – Five Ways Of Disappearing – Compact Disc
Released in 1995 on 4AD Records, Five Ways of Disappearing is the only full-length solo album by Kendra Smith, an artist best known for her work with The Dream Syndicate and Opal, the precursor to Mazzy Star. After leaving the music industry for several years, Smith resurfaced with this album, a mesmerizing blend of psychedelia, dream pop, folk, and avant-garde experimentation. This release remains her most complete artistic statement, offering a glimpse into her uniquely esoteric vision before she withdrew from the public eye once more.
Smith had been a crucial part of the Paisley Underground movement in the early 1980s, co-founding The Dream Syndicate and playing bass on their seminal debut album The Days of Wine and Roses (1982). She later formed Opal with David Roback, but tensions led to her abrupt departure in the middle of a tour, with Hope Sandoval stepping in as her replacement—ultimately transforming Opal into Mazzy Star. Following this exit, Smith essentially vanished, retreating into nature and avoiding the music industry. When she finally re-emerged in the mid-1990s, she had crafted an album entirely on her own terms, reflecting her deeply introspective and reclusive nature.
Five Ways of Disappearing is a sonically rich and textured album, standing apart from her work with Opal and The Dream Syndicate. While those projects leaned more heavily into neo-psychedelia and garage rock, this album is far more eclectic and experimental, incorporating folk, dream pop, droning Eastern-influenced arrangements, and even medieval-sounding compositions.
The instrumentation is especially notable, featuring harmonium, pump organ, Turkish drums, and unconventional percussive elements, which lend an air of timelessness to the songs. Many tracks drift between mystical and surreal atmospheres, as if they belong to a different era entirely—perhaps a reflection of Smith’s own self-imposed exile from modern life. Her deep, detached vocal delivery remains as enigmatic as ever, enhancing the otherworldly, hypnotic quality of the album.
Sonically, Five Ways of Disappearing bears traces of folk revivalism, but it is also steeped in psychedelic soundscapes and eerie, atmospheric production. There are moments of almost medieval or Renaissance-style songcraft, suggesting an artist completely uninterested in contemporary trends. The music feels both rooted in ancient traditions and yet untethered to any specific time or place, making it a deeply immersive listening experience.
Track Highlights & Breakdown
“Aurelia” – The album opens with this haunting, mysterious track, featuring swirling organ drones, a hypnotic rhythm, and Smith’s hushed, cryptic vocals. The song feels like a ritual incantation, setting the tone for the album’s dreamlike journey.
“Bohemian Zebulon” – A more playful, folk-infused track, blending lighthearted acoustic instrumentation with a psychedelic undertone.
“Temporarily Lucy” – This song shifts into a darker, more gothic folk territory, with a sense of detachment in the vocals that enhances the feeling of isolation and mystery.
“In Your Head” – One of the more straightforward compositions, this track leans into a slow, mesmerizing groove, feeling like a lost folk-blues tune from another time.
“Space: Unadorned” – The title perfectly encapsulates the song’s ethereal, floating quality, featuring minimalist arrangements and ambient textures that give the song an almost weightless feel.
“Maggots” – A jarring shift in tone, this track introduces abrasive guitar textures and a menacing energy, showcasing Smith’s ability to move between gentle mysticism and unsettling aggression.
“Drunken Boat” – This song leans into a cosmic folk aesthetic, filled with shimmering guitar work and an eerie sense of detachment.
“(Interlude) Dirigible” – A short, cinematic interlude that serves as a moment of eerie calm before the final stretch of the album.
“Valley of the Morning Sun” – This track is warm and pastoral, evoking images of vast, untouched landscapes.
“Earth Same Breath” – A deeply introspective, meditative piece that highlights Smith’s fascination with natural cycles and the interconnectedness of all things.
“St. Luke” – One of the most intimate moments on the album, featuring gentle acoustic guitar and a ghostly, almost whispered vocal performance.
“Bold Marauder” – A reinterpretation of a 1960s folk song by Mimi and Richard Fariña, infused with Smith’s signature spectral energy, making it feel like a forgotten ballad from another realm.
“Prayer” – The closing track, a slow-burning and deeply atmospheric meditation, leaving the listener with an overwhelming sense of mystery and longing.
Throughout the album, there is an undeniable sense of nomadism and detachment from the modern world, almost as if Smith herself exists in a parallel dimension, wandering through forgotten landscapes.
The lyrics of Five Ways of Disappearing often feel like riddles, poetic fragments, or cryptic meditations on solitude, transformation, and nature. Unlike traditional storytelling, her words often drift through the songs in an impressionistic, dreamlike manner, leaving much open to interpretation. There is a clear sense of escapism and detachment, mirroring Smith’s real-life withdrawal from the music industry. Many songs feel as if they could have been discovered in an ancient manuscript or whispered in the wind centuries ago, reinforcing Smith’s ability to create a timeless and mysterious world within her music.
Five Ways of Disappearing was critically well-received but remained a cult release, largely because Smith herself refused to promote it. She quickly disappeared once more, choosing a reclusive lifestyle in the forests of Northern California, where she lived off the grid, avoiding interviews, tours, and further musical projects.
Over the years, the album has become a sought-after rarity, cherished by those who appreciate obscure, mystical, and deeply personal records. Unlike the shoegaze-laced dreaminess of Mazzy Star, Smith’s work is more raw, cryptic, and untamed, offering a glimpse into the mind of an artist uninterested in fame or commercialism.
Though she never returned with another full album, her influence lingers in artists who blend folk, psychedelia, and atmospheric textures—from Marissa Nadler to Grouper.
Five Ways of Disappearing is a singular, deeply haunting work, one that feels both intimate and alien at the same time. It’s an album that demands patience, rewarding those who are willing to immerse themselves in its mystical landscapes and spectral beauty.
For those who appreciate music that exists outside of time, that feels like a transmission from another world, Kendra Smith’s only solo album remains a lost gem, waiting to be rediscovered.
Australian Pressing
4AD/Shock/Cortex
Track Listing
Aurelia
Bohemian Zebulon
Temporarily Lucy
In Your Head
Space Unadorned
MaggotsDrunken Boat
Diricible
Valley Of The Morning Sun
Judge Not
Get There
Saturn
Bold Marauder
