Anna May dives deep into a wellspring of romantic grief in her starkly beautiful and deeply personal new single Elegy — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
An intimately revealing nine-minute meditation on love, loss and longing, the singer-songwriter’s latest track will resonate with anyone who has spent time sifting the ashes of a ruined relationship. Gently woven from hushed acoustic guitar strumming, angelic crooning and cinematic / poetic lyrics, the candlelit ballad takes us along as May retraces the arc of a West Coast romance that burned brief and bright:
“A little gleam on evening streets
Glistening like our elegy
Darkness upon Solana Beach
We found the place where two sunsets meet
Sunken down so deep
Hills of heartbreak falling like dreams
You are the best and worst that I have ever seen
Flames and embers float between
A lost land of possibility.”
“To me, this song really feels like San Diego and like a very short-lived sliver of pleasure,” May says. “I am so happy to have this song, which would not have existed without the pain that I’ve felt, for all these months. I never thought that I would have to write a song like this one, and I resisted the difficult process. This was edited more heavily than other songs that I’ve written. There are conscious details placed throughout, specific to who it is written for and I am proud to have cultivated a sort of secret language.
“It is an instantly therapeutic and visceral experience as an artist to be present with a song like this. It means so much to me, and I hope that it can resonate for listeners and allow them space to explore the transcendent sorts of moments in their lives, that often times feel, might not come back. This is to hanging on to them, in whatever raw and stark form we find ourselves. I wanted it to be the words for the silence after a breakup. It is an elegy for the most that I’ve ever loved and the most cruel that I’ve ever been treated.”
Recorded by longtime producer Steve Rizzo, Elegy is the followup to May’s last release, The Show. Similar to her previous work, the vocally rich folk ballad — flecked with elements of doo wop — falls squarely within the bounds of her self-coined genre, alternative tragic Americana.
Originally from Connecticut before becoming a western transplant, May is a singular artist whose songs bear a placelessness that lends to their timeless nature. The deep exploration of heartbreak and trauma has been an ongoing thread throughout her work. She explores both estrangement and connection while taking cues from artists like Billie Holiday, Shawn Colvin, Neil Young, Mazzy Star and Lana del Rey. She has been compared to Jeff Buckley and Aimee Mann.
Anna has opened for artists like Kacy Hill, Amythyst Kiah, The Arcadian Wild, People Museum, Jann Klose, Nova One and others. She has performed at countless festivals and venues, been featured in scores of publications, appeared on multiple radio stations and podcasts, and been nominated for Best Americana Act at the New England Music Awards.
Listen to Elegy above, hear more from Anna May below, and join her on her website, Facebook and Instagram.
