Amber Liu is the return of unfiltered honesty that goes right for the gut. Its single "hate myself" strips away the veneer of self-doubt and internal conflict to lay bare the personal anguish transmuted into an anthemic confession that anyone who's ever taken up arms against their image in the mirror can relate to.
In a shift from the playful tempo of some of her more recent work, she drops Amber into a stripped-down, solitary headspace. To haunting melodies and a slow-burning beat, her vocals have a rawness that is both vulnerable and defiant. It's the sort of track that doesn't merely request your attention but demands it.
Manika tells me, lyrically, that that is nothing short of brutally honest. Amber isn't afraid to speak about the difficulty of loving oneself; she shares the intrusive thoughts we're too often scared to admit. But within the sadness, there's an unmistakable catharsis. "Hatemyself" is both confessional and release; it reminds us that we are never entirely alone, even at our darkest.
Amber excels at sonic risk-taking with her signature knack for fusing emotional complexity with broad experimentation. "Hatemyself" is a moment of truth encased in hauntingly gorgeous production.
For longtime fans and newcomers alike, this cut solidifies Amber Liu's title as a voice for anyone struggling to define themselves among the often tumultuous nature of self-worth through brutally honest lyrics.