There’s something wonderfully awkward and honest about a song built around the words you never quite managed to say. On ‘Have You’, Clarity Liao turns that familiar feeling of unspoken affection into a soft, intimate slice of bedroom pop, where longing sits comfortably alongside a quietly infectious indie-pop warmth.
The track feels less like a grand romantic gesture and more like a late-night confession you’re not entirely sure you should be making. Liao’s vocal stays close and expressive as understated instrumentation gives the song plenty of breathing room, allowing its emotional details to land without ever becoming overworked. There’s a genuine sense of vulnerability here, particularly in the way the song captures that slightly obsessive side of a crush, the overthinking, the hoping, the wondering whether they might finally notice.
As part of her forthcoming Dear… EP, ‘Have You’ feels like another revealing glimpse into Liao’s songwriting world. It’s tender without becoming overly sentimental, personal without shutting the listener out. Sometimes the songs that connect most are the ones that simply say what we were all too nervous to say ourselves.