Kendra Smith was a founding member of both the Dream Syndicate and Opal, which earned her a unique and revered place in the hearts of Paisley Underground fans around the world. But there's another side to her that never quite enjoyed even the modest popularity delivered by her 80s underground affiliations.
The song "Stars are in Your Eyes" is from an obscure EP she released on 10" vinyl in 1992, and it has been a terminal favorite of mine ever since. Such beauty and confidence! Such divine melancholia! It's really quite difficult to get enough of this one, and dropped into the midst of any playlist, it's almost guaranteed to arouse the curiosity of those who haven't heard it before.
Smith quietly excused herself from the public life some years ago, and according to this MySpace page, now resides "somewhere in the forest" of California. No doubt, the pop archeologists will spend years unraveling "Stars are in Your Eyes", so why not get the ball rolling right now? Here's Monica giving it a spin on WFMU back in April of 2009—a splendid investment in the next four minutes of your life.
There's also a fan-made video for "Stars are in Your Eyes" on YouTube, featuring (unrelated) footage from the Prelinger Archives. Neat!
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