Monster by Meg Myers

Genre: Alternative rock
Sounds like: Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrissette, Marina + The Diamonds

Meet Meg Myers, a rising musician based out of Los Angeles.

While details about the singer are still somewhat minimal, we’ve got one excellent tune to work with: “Monster.”

The song was co-scribed and produced by Doctor Rosen Dosen, the up-and-coming producer responsible for a couple of MuuMuse’s favorite remixes over the past years for acts like Britney and Lady Gaga, as well as his exciting collaborative project with a slew of rising female pop stars, including Kay and Jessie And The Toy Boys, called GIRLS.

Yet Myers’ sound is a complete departure for Rosen: There’s no pop beats to be found here–only jagged riffs and raw, vulnerable lyrics: “My love, too much/Your love, not enough,” Myers sadly croons above a slow-strumming guitar before launching into the song’s haunting chorus: “Oh, what it takes out of me to lay by your side!”

As Rosen explained to me, the song’s stripped production is a nod to ’90′s alt-rock–from Nirvana to Portishead. “What have I done? I’m a fucking monster!” Myers bitterly yelps at one point, her voice quivering with all the anguish of a classic Morrissette angst track.

Although Myers’ 6-track debut EP isn’t due for release until later in January, you can already hear two more cuts from the EP on her official website, including the piano-tinged, hook heavy “Adelaide” and “Poison,” which surges with a slightly more modern electro-rock flare (and was also featured on Rosen Rosen’s Girls Vol. 1.)

What I like most about Myers, as with fellow alt-rock chanteuses Skylar Grey and, to a somewhat more pop-oriented extent Marina And The Diamonds, Lana Del Rey and Sky Ferreira (when she’s in a more punk mood), is that she provides a breath of fresh air in a rapidly smothering climate of club-pop. Don’t get me wrong–I live for the stuff, but there’s more than enough room for some snarling, kick-ass rock chicks to come clawing their way to the top of the charts and adding some much-needed variety to radio.

Coupled with comeback LPs from industry veterans like Garbage and No Doubt a little later in 2012–along with the rumored, much-delayed return of Fiona Apple (dear God, let it be!)–this might just be the year that (good) rock finally makes a comeback.

“Monster” is available as a free download at Myers’ official website.