刘恋 Liu Lian crafts affecting metropolitan fairy tales on a theatrical solo debut album. Best known as one half of the jazz-pop duo Mr. Miss, the singer-songwriter applies her signature flair for narrative and dramatic tension to 奇谈 [Fable Noir]. “These songs address how city women react in the face of external pressures from life, family and society,” she tells Apple Music. Where Mr. Miss’s urban stories use humour to defuse emotional strain, Liu’s solo work lets the bad feelings linger in the service of tough, determined protagonists whose actions may cross ethical and moral lines. “Growing up, I was seen as a thoughtful, studious ‘good girl’,” Liu confesses. “I always envied rebellious kids for their self-awareness and defiance. The bad girls in these songs all share one common trait—they won’t put others’ needs above their own. They know how to say no.” Retaining the jazz foundations of her previous work, Liu forgoes classic pop for the sounds of rock and indie-pop. The rougher textures of these elements complement her songs’ sharper moods—but she also takes advantage of tonal contrast on tracks like “花与镜” [“Flower and Mirror”], where fluid dream-pop sounds belie a story of bitter conflict. To achieve Liu’s aesthetic aims for the album, two tracks—“Drop It High” and “捉迷藏” [“Hide and Seek”]—were sourced from outside writers. The mix of both chamber and contemporary jazz as well as metal on “Hide and Seek” was outside Liu’s wheelhouse and required several days to record the demanding vocals—a challenge the artist welcomed. “This LP broke a lot of my usual habits,” she says. “It’s like the singer is an entirely different person from the one who sang on Mr. Miss’s Bedside Fugue.” Liu and her team recognised the importance of video streaming platforms for reaching audiences but were reluctant to shoot standard videos. “What’s the point of shooting me lip-synching against a pretty backdrop?” she asks. Instead, they shot a series of narrative shorts, adding a distinct but related visual dimension to the songs’ original scenarios. “Short films can justify the existence of the songs—and the films themselves can tell meaningful stories,” she says. “听见哭声吗” [“Can You Hear the Cry”], which melds the stage theatricality of Mr. Miss with the alt-rock vibe of early Muse, becomes a twisted tale of serial killers and domestic violence inspired by the film Pearl, while “有丝分裂” [“A Joy Division”] is used as the soundtrack to a true-to-life story of trafficking and revenge—with photos of actual missing children shown over the end credits to raise awareness. Not all of Liu’s stories are so grim. “你手好冷” [“Your Hands Are Cold”], whose smooth gospel harmonies feature vocals from Gen-Z pop experimenter burger.cue, is paired with a bittersweet botanical love story that draws inspiration from the novel The Vegetarian by Han Kang. And despite the weighty subject matter, much of Liu’s characteristic levity remains. The vivacious, darkly humorous “悬案” [“Cold Case”] is paired with a video depicting the afterlife as a central business district bogged down by bureaucracy.