Clash Presents Lady Lazarus’ “Miracles”

CLASH PREMIERES LADY LAZARUS’ SELF-DIRECTED, PARTICIPATORY “MIRACLES” MUSIC VIDEO

TITLE TRACK FROM HIGHLY ANTICIPATED UPCOMING ALBUM, OUT MARCH 3

“…A strangely placid kind of tension that never fails to draw me in…the liquid weightlessness of dream-pop and the earthy tactility of folk, the cloudy drift of Erik Satie and the lightning pulses of Philip Glass.”––Pitchfork

“[Sweat’s] dreamy, off-kilter songs feel equal parts Daniel Johnston and Glasser…”––The Fader

“Her gently lilting compositions recall the eerie warmth of early Beach House efforts coupled with the stark hermitude of piano-bound singer-songwriters like Perfume Genius or Youth Lagoon. But where those songwriters might focus on the personal, Sweat aims for the existential.”––Interview

Today Clash Magazine premieres the brand new music video for Lady Lazarus’ “Miracles,” the title track of her upcoming album, calling it “entrancing” and “stylishly shot,” and praising her “emotive delivery,” noting that “there’s an intensity to her performance which echoes that within the music.” Check it out here.

Lady Lazarus is the acclaimed solo project of artist Melissa Ann Sweat who created the poignant concept for the “Miracles” video herself, compiling dozens of short clips from friends across the country sharing visual statements of what they believe in and what keeps them going in life. The sentiment is one that is key to the upcoming album of the same name—Sweat’s third as Lady Lazarus—out March 3 via her own new Queen’s Ransom label. Consequence of Sound recently premiered the title track, calling it “impressive” and further praising it as a “gentle ballad with a of pop sensibility that’s relatively fresh to her work.” The track can he heard at Consequence of Sound here.

Produced by John Keller, Miracles elevates Sweat’s lo-fi keyboard style with the use of a baby grand piano, orchestral percussion from Gary Mallaber (Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Miller Band) and additional instrumentation including synths, strings, French horn and flute. “I knew that these songs wanted and deserved more instrumentation than in the past, and I was finally ready to explore these options,” explains Sweat. 

Shortly after recording Miracles in Los Angeles, Sweat relocated to Joshua Tree. The creative influence of living in the Mojave Desert figures prominently in the visual aspect of the release (photos, music videos, etc.), but the album is inspired more broadly by other events in Sweat’s life and career.

Since 2011 she has self-released two critically acclaimed albums; struggled with past depression, addiction and recovery; purged negative relationships from her life; and fallen in love. “While I’ve endured many struggles, I’ve tried to orient myself in a positive direction––which has come to a sort of fruition in this moment in my life and in my music,” she says.

The album follows 2013’s All My Love in Half Light, which received widespread critical praise from the likes of NPR, Interview, Pitchfork, SPIN and The Fader––Impose called it “a masterwork made with the utmost care,” while Clash described it as “a haunting meditative take on the dream pop template which fuses glorious melancholy with a near classical sweep.”

MIRACLES TRACK LIST:

1. Miracles

2. Train Song

3. Lonely Daughter

4. All Good Things

5. Little Steps

6. Spirit Away

7. Anna

8. Wildflowers

9. Resolve