In contextualizing the work and world of Lady Lazarus (a.k.a. Melissa Ann Sweat), it’s helpful to take a look at the posthumously published Sylvia Plath poem, “Lady Lazarus,” which includes the line, “Dying is an art, like everything else.”
Morbid, a bit, but also hopeful in a sense, and very appropriate in consideration of Lady Lazarus’s new track, “Anna”—a song written and named for the artist’s grandmother, who died in a plane crash in her father’s youth. In comes the hopeful part, however, as Sweat notes, “I’ve considered my grandmother someone who watches over me in life and have often wondered how this event has influenced my family history and my father’s upbringing. I aimed to acknowledge and honor my ancestors and show that I can heal and triumph from the wounds of our family tree. It’s almost a kind of ritual.”
Grandiose and minimally arranged, the track is a fitting, if somewhat somber tribute, and an intriguing taste of more to come on the full-length LP, Miracles, due out next month.
Miracles is out March 3 via Queen’s Ransom.
