Meg Myers: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

March 6, 2019 | Robin Hilton -- Meg Myers put out one of 2018&most intense and cathartic albums. Take Me to the Disco raged and threw sonic punches at anyone who&ever attempted to use or abuse her, from former record executives to past lovers. Dressed in a sparkling blue leotard, Myers re-creates that fire and ferocity behind the Tiny Desk, replacing her album&roaring electric guitars and electronics with a pulsing string quartet, piano and brushed drums. But the most intense part of the performance is Myers herself. The distant, piercing looks she gives during the set&opening cut, "Jealous Sea," are unforgettable and unforgiving as she sings about a rat&nest of feelings — anger, fear, jealousy, desire — over an ex. "Everything&right, everything&wrong / When you call my name," she sings while half-hugging herself. "And I don&think I can stop the jealousy / When it comes, it comes like waves and I can&breathe." Myers follows with a searing version of what she calls "a very lovely, uplifting song" from Take Me to the Disco called "Tear Me to Pieces," a frenzied takedown of liars, buried secrets and "wicked temptations." She then dials back the fury and indignation to close with a surprising version of "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush. Myers is a longtime fan, and often gets compared to the British singer. But Myers tells the audience she fell in love with the song for its meaning. "It&about men and women and the differences between them, and learning to have empathy for...