Even though in theory the internet should make music to be universal, it’s not. There are still enough other factors in play to ensure that whilst an artist might be known in their own country, in other lands they’re still a stranger.
I posted a lot about Meg Myers between 2012 and 2015 leading up to her debut LP Sorry. Not only were her jagged and gritty songs sonically powerful and lyrically intense but her videos were admirably disturbing, drawing you into her dark world. The tunes were sufficiently impressive to connect in her home country, where her album charted on the Billboard Top 100, but in here in the UK there seemed to be little or no fanfare for her work.
Since the release of Sorry Meg has been seemingly lying low, but has now announced a forthcoming second album, Take Me To The Disco, due July 20th. Of this record she says: “I started this album in June of 2016. I wrote over 50 songs, recorded in some form 30 or more of those, hiked 2,874 2/3 miles, took 1,246.5 poops, cried a whopping 942 times and laughed a lot too. I moved from Los Angeles to Nashville and then back to Los Angeles. I watched as people debated whether I looked better with long hair or short hair.”
There’s probably a little bit too much information there about the poops (especially half a one – how do you do that?), but importantly you can now hear new music from Take Me To The Disco.
Despite the name of the album, some of the titles of the songs suggest that we’re not in for a happy day-glo pop album with the likes of Tear Me To Pieces, Funeral, Little Black Death and new single Numb all featuring. Numb is a raging rock tune full of throaty riffs and big dynamics that deals with the feeling of crushing psychological burden placed on her by others: “I hate the feeling of this weight upon my shoulders, pushing the pressure down on me, you think you want the best for me but nothing really matters, if you force it won't come, I guess I'm feeling numb,” she roars before adding “I don’t want to grow up la la la.”
It’s a tense and vociferous song that bodes well for the full-length. Here’s hoping that Meg makes it to Europe (specifically the UK) for some live shows this time round.
Meg Myers - Numb