Lady Lazarus is somewhat of a diamond in the ruff; as opposed to many on the abnormal side of singer-songwriter terrain, Melissa Ann Sweat counteracts the unconventional mindset of her work with even more perceptible songwriting. On the contrary, Mantic isn't as unconventional as much as it is unusually bare-bones in its presence.
The cover of Mantic may allude to some digitally rendered dream sequence, but these 54 minutes consist of Sweat's voice paired with her piano. A haunting melody is crooned to conform to the sunken timbre of the keys, conjuring a resonant texture. Mantic maintains that Grouper effect: the cavernous ambiance and the embrace of mid frequencies are encasing to the extent that the atmospheric howl becomes just as important as the songwriting-- at times outweighing it.
The only hassle purveyed on Mantic is its allegiance to minimalism. The hollow coupling of soaring vocalwork and warm, thudding keys elicits a rich and organic sensation, but reiteration gains prevalence within the first half of the album, and the minimalism begins to lose its effect. Occasionally, a detour may suffice-- the plinking instrumentation on "Immortal Youth," use of accordion on "Pearl," or serene acoustic exploration on the closer "Kurosawa's Dreams and Me"-- liberating this oeuvre from any severe doddle.
A certain makeshift charm provides the strength behind Lady Lazarus's work; the emptiness between thudding chords, the subtle creaking from the surroundings, the varying tension within Sweat's compositions provide a natural pace for the duration of Mantic. Sweat's music here is cut of a very personal and honest cloth, albeit quite distanced from the microphone.
[Lady Lazarus Myspace]
[Buy Mantic from Bandcamp]
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