It was a bit of a shock when Anastacia announced in 2013 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. The first time it happened she recovered and released her very good self titled album Anastacia. It was an album brimming with emotion, incredibly emotive vocals and a new found 'sprock' sound (soul/pop/rock) apparent on singles Left Outside Alone and Sick & Tired. Her 6th studio album follows on from 2 not so great collections; one of pop-disco and another of needless covers of artists like the Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon. The aptly named Resurrection is a vast improvement on those 2 predecessors and a fine return to form.
Resurrection's tone is dark, darker than that of Anastacia. There's plenty passion fueling the vocals throughout and there are moments where she is expressing her passion to survive cancer, most notably on the ballads. Lifeline is an album highlight, backed by a beautiful string arrangement that explodes in the middle 8, and emotional lyrics that have Anastacia pleading, "Somebody tell me have I just wasted a lifetime/Show me some hope/God it's so cold/Throw me a lifeline". This fear of mortality is also apparent on the beautiful Stay where she sings, "I'm not ready to go just yet". The ballads continue with I Don't Want To Be The One & Pendulum. The former is a paint by numbers heartbreak song, with soaring vocals and a memorable chorus - although it disappointingly doesn't 'take off' in the final chorus. The latter starts with great promise of being a beautiful gospel inspired ballad, but unfortunately becomes an unfulfilling and repetitive pop track. This disappointment is continued with Evolution, where the intention is good but the implementation falls short with an uninspiring and repetitive chorus. Thankfully, Apology and Broken Wings pick up the quality of the down tempo tracks, closing the album in emotional fashion.
Emotion is clear throughout Resurrection. Opener Staring At The Sun is a piano led power ballad with a brilliant hook and epic chorus and could be one of her best songs to date. It showcases her immense vocals and how well they gel with sprock production. Anastacia take note, this is what you're good at darling. Stupid Little Things serves as the lead single, opening with thumping drums and a meandering verse. It's infectious from start to finish and the chorus is, to put it simply, fantastic. Dark White Girl's production is great and her vocals are on point as she sings about going to places she never thought possible in her lowest emotional moments.
It's nice to have Anastacia back. Whether you like her or not, her talent is apparent both as a singer and a songwriter. Resurrection is a mature, emotional album with a focus on her battle with cancer and the emotional burden that comes with it. I imagine it will serve as an inspiration to her fans that can directly relate to her experiences and songs like Lifeline and Stay sensitively deal with her own fear of losing her life before her time. It's not perfect and there are some weaker moments, but there are enough great songs here to make a listen worthwhile. Resurrection is the album Anastacia needed to remind us of who she is and what she's good at. It's great to have a mainstream pop artist releasing material that actually means something and isn't all about aggressive sexuality.
4/5
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