Gracefully avoiding being pigeonholed, Meg Myers has managed to cut her own distinctive swathe in modern music, her mix of rock, pop and darker elements building on a solid foundation of songwriting that harks back to the ’70s and ’80s. With Tzia, Myers has yet again pushed boundaries with this, her third album and the results are intriguing and involving, taking the listener to the darkest of hearts and then bringing them safely out the other side.
Meg Myers – Tzia (Sumerian Records)
Release Date: 24 March 2023
Words: Paul Monkhouse
It’s a packed affair, fifteen tracks jostling for space on the release and as such, there’s an overall itch to dig deeper and longer into it. Some of the songs are seemingly over in a flash, but this is all smoke and mirrors, as each have their own lifespan. Equally satisfying and frustrating as this is, the quality here is always high, and for those searching for something different than their usual diet, Tzia brings this splintered fantasy world alive with shards of light and dark shadows in a constant state of flux.
“TZIA is the manifestation of a four-year-long journey of healing, existential awakening, transformation, and rebirth,” Meg says. “I am so grateful to be able to share this light and the insights I have gained with you through this exploration and expression of my deepest and most raw and honest feelings that have emerged from this period of self-reflection.
“TZIA carries radical channelled messages and encoded frequencies of truth, unity, peace, forgiveness, empowerment and liberation along with PTSD, mental, emotional, physical, and sexual healing from addiction, trauma repression and oppression, and healing victimisation consciousness.”
Starting with the Gothic dance rock chill of Children Of Light II, Myers takes us down the first rabbit hole into a world that is soundtracked by Evanescence, Sia Furler and Siouxsie And The Banshees before emerging into the glacial yet strident Euro Rock Of A New Society.
These tilts in mood inform the album. When the singer advises on the latter, “I know the truth is inside of me, I hold the key,” you feel that you’re about to open Pandora’s Box, the edgy, driving and seductive HTIS, another twist in the tale. Alongside the ache of I Just Wanna Touch Somebody and the gloriously laid-back pop ballad of My Mirror, Myers cover of Linkin Park’s Numb fits hand in glove, its stunning arrangement, plucked strings and layered vocals turning this much loved modern classic into something she owns entirely.
Myers is never less than brave with her choices, and under the icy sheen and pop sensibilities lie a beating human heart, its passion on the barbed Waste Of Confetti and the darkly sensual Ovaries Speak there seen just below the surface.
“I’ve always been drawn to making music as a form of therapy,” Meg says, “but until I had my awakening, I didn’t fully grasp why I was doing it. When I was able to step back and see my story from a higher perspective, I realised that everything I’ve gone through is part of my mission to do things differently and create something that helps others, especially the people who’ve experienced trauma and have this confusion about how to release it.
“I believe there’s so much healing potential in all of us, and now I feel empowered to help other people find that and learn how to let go.”
Whilst others are content to bring out cookie-cutter releases, interchangeable with each other, there’s something very different going on here, and for those willing to take a chance, tracks like the haunting Bluebird and a magical Sophia <144> their openness will be richly rewarded.
Intelligent, passionate and beautifully crafted, Tzia is certain to be one of the most outstanding albums of this year.
This whole album is a messy, on-the-nose, with the lyrical quality of a 16 year old girl’s diary. It’s terrible.
Once again the album is awesome and amazing. All 3 lps and the eps are outstanding. Keep doing what you do meg. Because you do it so well. Thank you ms myers. You are exactly what we want and need. Bless you and wishing you nothing but love. BTW previous comment by marisa is to be ignored. SHE IS AN IDIOT. Wow.