As a band, Mazzy Star was shrouded in mystery, in part because their music inexplicably lent them that quality and in part because, well, the band members just didn't help out the press too much. Years later, it seems that's still the case with the star of Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval. It's nothing personal. She's just a lady that prefers to let the music do the talking. That said, when she fielded questions from Spinner recently, she only actually passed on one -- she had no comment on the hypothetical possibility of a tour package featuring Mazzy Star, My Bloody Valentine and the Warm Inventions. Fair enough; we probably wouldn't have answered a question like that either.

But we did learn one surprising thing about her. Apparently she has only recently heard the term "shoegazing" and, while the cap fits, she's not gonna wear it. "I have no idea what it means and no idea who it applies to," she says. "These are just terms that journalists make up to communicate with each other."

Again, fair enough. Sandoval is gearing up for the release of her second album under the name of Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions, a partnership of sorts that she formed with My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig circa 2001. Despite the moniker, Sandoval claims it's not a solo project. "I don't believe there is such a thing as a solo project," she says. "People usually need other people to create soulful music."

Fine. We'll leave that one at that. Solo project or not, we're still eager for the release of the Warm Inventions' second album, 'The Devil Softly,' on September 1. And while we knew better than to even ask her about a possible Mazzy Star reunion, there is hope: "There's been three different projects I've been working on," says Sandoval, elusively. "This is the first to come out."