An epic and insanely beautiful blend of piano balladry, sound poetry, massive swelling synths, and fast-shifting soundscapes. Lucy Liyou, currently based in California, has previously released music incorporating text-to-speech vocals, pansori influences, and virtuosic piano. Here she's working with producer Nick Zanca, and they both like blending tearjerker extremes with passages of sonic abstraction. This album is devastating and exhilarating. Highest recommendation. RIYL late-period Talk Talk, Bjork, claire rousay, Klein, Bark Psychosis, Mariah Carey (sampled on 2). All three songs are breathtaking. No FCCs detected, but content warning (assault) on 2.

1. (14:28)—Starts with clicking sounds, then glittering synths and droning bass fade in slowly. Heavily processed spoken-word vocals begin at five minutes, with lyrics switching between English and Korean, and the music ramps up and drops off quickly. "I know there was water / and a shore / because I was there with you." Gorgeous romantic piano grows into intense balladry. A climactic jazz-like passage becomes eerie and vertigo-inducing. Gentle ending.
2. (11:13)—Content warning (assault). A very loose interpretation of the Vernon Duke jazz standard "April in Paris." (Liyou mostly speaks the original lyrics before incorporating her own, also largely spoken.) Clicking, glitchy introduction. Very slow, ghostly ballad jazz. Rain sounds, dissonant drone textures. A heartbreaking piano and voice section, then a bass-heavy electronic piano section. An extended sample of a Mariah Carey interview, a massive wash of dissonant strings.
3. (9:11)-A woozy, melancholy soundscape with faded samples of radio (?) announcements. Soft synth drone. Very ASMR-y spoken vocals, bird sounds. Becomes a heaven-aimed synth ballad at six minutes, all stops pulled out. The final thirty seconds have an airport ambiance. Ends cold.