Melissa Ann Sweat

Music

Sweat uses the stage name Lady Lazarus,^[4] which she derived from a poem by Sylvia Plath.^[5] Her music combines piano riffs, classical arrangements, and folk-music style vocals,^[6] and her influences include Tom Waits, Joanna Newsom, and Bill Callahan.^[7][2] Sweat learned how to play the piano only a few years before releasing her first album, on which she both played and served as the vocalist for her original songs.^[8] Her first album released under the name Lady Lazarus was Mantic in 2011,^[9] after which she began touring different cities as a live musician.^[10]

In 2013 Lady Lazarus released the music video for her track “Lapsarian”, directed by June Zandona and which premiered on NPR’s All Songs Considered. The track was from her new album All My Love in Half Light,^[4] also released in 2013^[11] and recorded with Papercuts’ Jason Quever. Later that year, Lady Lazarus contributed a cover of Jason Molina’s “Don’t It Look Like Rain” to Weary Engine Blues: A Tribute to Jason Molina.^[9][12][13] In 2014 Sweat contributed vocals to Graveface Records’ The Marshmallow Ghosts eponymous release, comprising Lady Lazarus, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Casket Girls, Dreamend, and Hospital Ships.^[14] In 2015 Lady Lazarus released the album Miracles. For the album she worked with producer John Keller, and used a variety of classical instruments throughout the tracks,^[15] including orchestral percussion by Gary Mallaber.^[16]

Other work

Melissa Ann Sweat has also exhibited paintings and mixed media artworks in group and solo exhibitions.^[17][18] As a writer, she has written for publications like Pop Matters and others.^[19]