As the first part of her two newly released EPs, Myers offers us raw lyricism shrouded in synthy beats that begins to chart a progression and draw to a close this chapter of the musician's life.
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When Meg Myers released Take Me To The Disco back in 2018, it felt incomplete. That’s not to confuse it with being anything less than brilliant, but as far as the album’s themes and the charting of its progression, there always felt more that needed to be said, something her two newly released EPs address. As the first part of the EPs, Thank You 4 Taking Me 2 The Disco is unfalteringly Myers at her best, weaving a delicate balance between the singer’s 80s-centric sound and the personal depth of her lyrics. It’s uncompromising and begins to chart a sense of closure for the singer, all the time is a pure demonstration of the whirlwind of talent that is Meg Myers.
Starting with ‘Any Way You Wanna Love’, Myers stays true to the sound of her Take Me To The Disco era. In fact, many of the songs feel true this chapter in Myers’ discography because they were written at the same time. Out of the 10 songs split across the two EPs, only two of them were written recently, the other eight being or baring resemblances to earlier versions prepared for her 2018 album. However, that’s not to say any of these songs are cast-offs because it is in fact the reverse that is true. For me, these songs are the real image that Myers wanted to present her listeners, a completed image that bridges the gaps that seemed at first insurmountable to pass. ‘Any Way You Wanna Love’ is the perfect example of this because in part it’s about freeing yourself from those around you and recognising and an element of self-worth, something Myers had to do herself to get these tracks in the hands of her listeners. It’s got an undeniable element of power behind that flows almost too perfectly into the second track ‘Grizzly’. With strong drums, a killer backing of the electric guitar and Myers voice gliding through her ingenious lyrics, it’s a song that thrives of juxtaposing its subject matter with the energy around it. Steeped in a sense of longing, the sheer energy of the song has a driving power of this Disco theme, drawing people together in a palpable sexual tension that feels stark. It’s truly energetic and elevates the album to dizzying heights before crashing us down with the next song.
Easily the best song on both EPs and arguably my favourite by Myers yet, ‘The Underground’ offers listeners a sense of escape in melancholy and loneliness. Where ‘Grizzly’ may be seen as the urging of sexual desire, ‘The Underground’ is a spurning of contact, a need for solitary and the comfort in being alone. Here Myers offers the poignant lyrics ‘I know when it starts to hurt / I can run, run away / Through the back roads and the highways’, and there’s a great deal of emotional vulnerability packed into the song that makes it stand out as an unfaltering high of the EP. It’s got the signature Myers’ musical style and lyrics and yet it feels so much more real than we’ve seen from her before and at times its arrangement and subject matter conjure a reminiscence of Kate Bush‘s legendary ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’, a song Myers covered beautifully back in 2019.
The final two songs are ‘Breaks My Back’ and ‘i hope you cry’, and they’re more grounded and musically simple that the previous three songs. It begins to chart downfall of energy, that will linger ever so beautifully into the second EP. ‘Breaks My Back’ is filled with weighty sentiments and its arrangement of instruments flips between Myers’ favoured guitar-melodies and the use of the piano and percussion instruments to create something that sounds distinct. However, it’s in her collab of ‘i hope you cry’, a song written recently with morgxn that we see a truly different side to Myers and possibly hints at a changing sound we may see in future releases. It’s stripped down to nothing more than the piano, an accompaniment of strings that really makes it stand out and despite acting as a new addition to the EPs, it just fits perfectly that you can’t falter it. Its emotional core and the addition of morgxn works to perfection and merges the two artists sounds into a beautifully uncompromised whole.
As the first part of a continuing story, ‘Thank You 4 Taking Me 2 The Disco’ is undeniably perfection. It’s hard to fault such a solid release for the musician and it works well in preparing listeners for the more emotionally wavering second part in I’d Like 2 Go Home Now.
Thank You 4 Taking Me 2 The Disco is available to listen to now via Sumerian Records. Check out ‘i hope you cry’ down below.
