Almost a month remains before Meg Lui unveils her debut full-length, Instant Validation, a project she delivered with the production help of Sufjan Stevens. Heard of him? We’ve already highlighted Lui’s tracks “Gone Girl” and “Elvis Queen.” Today, she presents a throwback country-flavored tune that delves into realizing she hadn’t treated her parents with enough kindness.
Sufjan Stevens teamed up with Keenan O’Meara to co-produce Lui’s latest track “Miss Queen Know It All,” with both Stevens and O’Meara providing harmony vocals. O’Meara handles the pedal steel, and Stevens contributes on a slew of instruments. The result is a lush waltz framed by a delicate orchestration, and what sticks with me most is Lui’s mournful yet steadfast vocal presence. She carries an immense emotional charge through the song. Here’s how she frames it:
t’s basically about being a shithead to my parents and battling that little kid voice inside me that rears her fussy head every once in a while. It’s realizing that no matter how much time passes and the flaws that are discovered within one’s parents that they did their best with what they had at the time. Now that I’m on this new crazy journey of being a mom and a parent, I often joke that it will probably all come full circle at some point for me. But I think the only thing to do is to keep showing up with love, try to be present, and have him send me the therapy bills when the time comes.
Listen to it below.
Instant Validation arrives on 9/25 via Asthmatic Kitty.
