Ever since hearing Meg Myers‘ track “Poison” on Doctor Rosen Rosen‘s GIRLS: VOLUME 1 EP last summer, I’ve been anxious to hear more. That delicious slice of angsty, alternative pop served as a bold reminder of what’s been sorely missing from the music scene for much too long: a strong, female point of view of emotional depth, unconcerned with getting tipsy in da club. Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple, Shirley Manson — where my moody ladies at?

While new LPs are expected from all this year (hooray!), it’s great to see Meg Myers aiming to join the varsity team. The Tennessee-born singer-songwriter is prepping a debut EP for the end of January with Doctor Rosen Rosen behind the board, taking sonic inspiration from alt-rock’s golden age as they look to reach a new generation with her raw, emotional tunes. In the interim, Myers has posted two tracks from the forthcoming release as free downloads, “Monster” and “Adelaide.” Both offer an excellent overview of the influences she’s infused into her own artistry.

“Monster” is a foreboding piece of music, with Myers’ vocals fitting in the space between Sinead O’Connor (circa Lion And The Cobra) and the aforementioned Fiona Apple. The lightly strummed acoustic guitar and mournful cello echo Nirvana’s “Something In The Way.” The music video for “Monster” premiered this week, with the starkly dressed clip keeping the focus squarely on Myers.

While “Monster” is a restrained production, Myers goes full-throttle on “Adelaide.” Again, there an umistakable Fiona Apple connection in Myers’ petulant vocals that the prominent piano serves to further. But Doctor Rosen Rosen freshens the familiar with a wonderfully layered production that sounds so very now. Pay particular attention to the synths and drums:

Here’s hoping the arrival of Meg Myers heralds a shift in mainstream music, once again allowing for a widening of the kinds of sounds that capture our collective attention. Diversity, for lack of a better word, is good.

Free download of Meg Myers – “Monster,” “Adelaide,” and “Poison” (which proves the point that there’s rarely been a bad tune with that title — see Alice Cooper, Bell Biv Devoe, and Nicole Scherzinger).