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Even from the get-go, TZIA is everything you want from a Meg Myers album, dipping and soaring, with haunting, echoing melodies and a powerful voice that she manipulates in just the right way to be almost eerie, all circled with a framework of delightfully Gothic lyricism. There’s something of a dystopian feel to the album too – or perhaps utopian, as decrying by the second track ‘A NEW SOCIETY’, where MYERS sings of such a new society with ‘no fear of violence’. No violence of course, aside from her killer voice.
It’s followed immediately by ‘ME’ an anthem of self-love with artfully fluctuating vocals, punctuated with fierce guitar that still stays low-key enough to not overshadow her voice. There’s a slight rasp in the vocals that only makes them better, and even without seeing the eccentricities of the music video – which is so fun and worth the watch – you get the same vibrantly colourful vibes from just the sound of it all.
The album lulls as the beginning comes to an end, with the slower ‘T33NAGERS’ and its hope for the future of the world, and the sixth song on there, ‘MY MIRROR’, which helps bring some balance to the tone of the piece – MYERS’ voice matches the big boom of drums and the loud guitar in previous tracks, but equally suits the slower pace and the more stripped back nature of every song like this. It’s more lamenting than anything else on the album up until this point, but still has just enough in the way of upbeat to be catchy, even while you’re feeling its full cathartic force.
Track number 9 is a cover of Linkin Park’s Numb, and as a long-time fan of MYERS’ version of Running Up That Hill (yes, even before Stranger Things), it’s incredible that she’s managed to pull another one out of the bag, The song is stripped back for her version, not quite as sweeping as the original, but it packs its own punch and leaves more room to dwell on the force of the lyrics, which makes it a fun break while also fitting nicely amongst the theme of her own work.
The title track ‘TZIA’ is a masterpiece, with rasping, whispery verses that crescendo into monumental choruses that have an almost ethereal quality to them. Everything on the album seems balanced between cosmic futurism, and smaller, more gentle pieces that hit just the right chord on the heartstrings. It’s impossible for MYERS to disappoint, and ‘TZIA’ has by no means broken that streak, a beautiful, perfectly crafted album that has something for every kind of mood you might find yourself in.
TZIA is released 24th March 2023 via Sumerian Records.
Review – El Vipond
Photo Credit: Catie Laffoon
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