Lucy Liyou’s vocals have an ever so slight quaver with the strength of feeling on the single “Arrested.” Her vocals are forward in the mix with a harmonic wash of ambient tone swirling gently in the background with a touch of minimal piano work to provide a glimmer of melody and impressionistic rhythm. Liyou navigates through the low end drones and distorted white noise waves as almost a musical metaphor for the complex emotions depicted in Liyou’s lyrics of yearning for the kind of love and acceptance everyone wants but doesn’t always get and not necessarily wanting to feel that way even after you’ve come to accept the situation for what it is. Sometimes that reality strikes you and you will feel the well of emotions all over again in a different way than perhaps the initial agony. Liyou began writing the music for this album when she was in college and over half a decade later those feelings feel more fully and creatively articulated while honoring the pain that inspired the songwriting and how that experience can echo again in other situations in your life. Certainly a queer or trans kid can experience that kind of psychological disruption but anyone that has had dysfunctional parents or those that seem incapable of extending the normal, parental emotional support will resonate with what Liyou has expressed in this song. And let’s face it, that’s entirely too much of not just America but the world and you see it in music, literature and art worldwide. Lucy Liyou just gave it a gentle elegance of form in “Arrested” with a beautifully ethereal video directed by Park Seung Won. Watch that video on YouTube and follow Lucy Liyou at the links provided. Liyou’s new album Every Video Without Your Face, Every Sound Without Your Name is out March 21, 2025 via Orange Milk on limited edition vinyl, digital download and streaming.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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