ALBUM REVIEW: TZIA – Meg Myers

MEG MYERS; a woman who had a dream, and trekked to LA to make it happen, with a simple goal of making others feel emotions they are often too afraid to admit. A self taught guitarist and bassist whose most notable song is Desire. A woman who is often referred to as the female version of NINE INCH NAILS, something we never knew we needed until we were given it, embracing her with open arms. Myers has been in the music scene for over 12 years and in that time she has released five EPs and two albums prior to TZIA, but this one might be the record to cement her place in alternative pop with a vast variety of styles that stay true to the signature Myers sound we all crave. Myers never fails to bring something exciting and this album is truly eye-opening and leaves a lot to unpack, a treasure for the empaths of the world who truly aren’t afraid to feel something real.

The album opens with CHILDREN OF LIGHT II; a song about your inner darkness and living alongside it, acknowledging it. It’s not an overly complex song instrumentally but this album in its entirety offers a textural display of sound and similarities to NINE INCH NAILS. The song brings to light the lyrics and their importance – a concept the entire album runs head first towards in a cathartic endeavour, though this track features a certain intimacy displayed towards the vocals having no effect towards the track’s ending, almost sounding like they kept a voice note recording of the melody and sprinkled some ominous violin that contradicts itself in tone but works efficiently before one last belt of the chorus. 

HTIS (featuring Luna Shadows and Carmen Vandenberg) feels like a lovechild to late 2000s LADY GAGA and NINE INCH NAILS – a dance-pop track meets industrial. The addition of Luna’s softer, childlike vocals compliments that of Myers‘ harsher vocals; when mashed together they sound like one person talking to themselves, past and present meeting in the middle. It’s a song that deals with past trauma and insecurities, coming to terms with this and learning to love themselves. Thus by the end of the song she’s finally breaking the chains and choosing to not be defined by her past; it’s admirable to be this open and raw on record. 

MY MIRROR is more stripped back in comparison, very alternative rock and ballad-esque. It’s a song that focuses more on yourself, those undeniable struggles that have you more in a chokehold than anything else and late night talk with yourself in the mirror, wondering what happened to that version of yourself. The ambient textures in the background bring out this sense of drowning in the noise that pushes the agenda of this song into the open. BLUEBIRD is both the shortest and most impactful on the album; tackling the topic of suicide, a lullaby to “mourn the loss of all those who lost their way“, it’s kept short, sweet and sombre. Despite its dark nature, it’s a beautiful track much like the souls who left the world too early in their ongoing daily wars. 

The most unexpected of surprises on this record is Nicole Perretti’s rap section featured on SOPHIA <144>; another feat for Myers who continually tries to experiment with what she can create within her music, what boundaries she can break without forcing anything unnatural to the song. This track definitely breaks up the industrial-fused vision and seems to dip its toes into more trap elements whilst keeping her signature sound. The album then closes with ELEVENELEVEN; amplified by its ambient and ethereal sound however, it leaves you desiring more. Arguably this isn’t the wisest choice of album closers, as it definitely feels more like a track that should have been placed in the middle somewhere – more like a filler than a memorable final offering. 

It must be said that MEG MYERS is like HALSEY’s edgier sister, with similarities in vocal styles but different enough to separate the two, and TZIA should be on the receiving end of praise just as much as If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. From start to finish this album feels like reading a diary from an adolescent’s journey of trauma recovery and learning to stand on their own two feet again, discovering who they are post-trauma and the insecurities that have followed them along the way. It doesn’t try to be something it isn’t, it knows its boundaries and perfectly accentuates certain areas within each song to make for a delightful listen front to back. This is what an alternative pop album should sound like. 

Rating: 8/10

TZIA is out now via Sumerian Records.

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