Review Summary: Although certainly not brand new to the scene, Meg Myers has a fresh and original take on pop music that may surprise you.
Pop music is meant to be fun and upbeat right? It's supposed to make you want to dance and sing. What's wrong with that? But let's face it; pop is so often transparently trying to relate to young people that most chart topping pop songs are just plain predictable. With
Sorry, throw away all preconceived notions of what pop music is or should be. Although certainly not brand new to the scene, Meg Myers has a fresh and original take on the genre that may surprise even the most jaded music fan.
To simply call this a pop album might give the wrong impression. There are elements of rock, grunge and even a little industrial. None of these are prominently displayed but all play a role in Meg's style. She is a self professed grunge and punk rock fan, who grew up on a steady diet of Alice in Chains and Nirvana. "Lemon Eyes" is a good example of the Nirvana influence, employing punk sounding guitar and drums accompanied by catchy vocals. Other songs sound as if Myers took a page right out of Trent Reznor's guide to industrial music. "Motel" is a fine opener that heavily uses keyboards & drums and has a marching yet mellow feel to it. "Desire" has a dark and lusty sound, with brooding bass and moody vocals, and even has a guitar solo that finishes the song on a strong note.
In spite of these darker rock roots, Myers is not above playing catchy and upbeat material either. Myers has a great voice with impeccable vocal range that can be heard on many tracks. "A Bolt From the Blue" sounds more on par with today's pop radio hits but still doesn't disappoint, with one of the albums vocal highlights and more memorable lyrics. On top of that, the title track "Sorry" could easily be a top ten radio hit due to it's catchy chorus and anthem-like style.
Sorry also has a mellow and slow side, with song's like "The Morning After" and "Parade" containing acoustic guitar and little else. These songs aren't bad on their own, but feel out of place here, possibly due to the odd track listing that has upbeat and mellow tracks so close together. Putting two of the most mellow and slow songs back to back lets the album lose a little steam. Fortunately the album ends on a very good note with the trip-hop sounding track "Feather", which feels way different than the other tracks and truly sticks out as a highlight of the album.
While much of
Sorry could be considered radio friendly, this album still sounds different than anything you would hear in the modern pop world. Myers truly has a gift for crafting original and catchy songs, playing off of her roots to combine rock and pop together in a dark and emotional way no one else can. This is an album filled with strong material that often clashes awkwardly due to poor track listing. Every song is great on it's own but some simply do not mesh well together. In spite of this,
Sorry is still sure to be a highlight of 2015 and an excellent debut from a very talented artist.
