Inventio [CD]

Artists making pop music today are expected to calcify as one easily consumable version of themselves, or capitulate wildly to the capricious algorithm. Murex, a Swedish musician and artist, and one of Young Recordings' latest signings, is already an accomplished songwriter, propelling the work of women challenging those constraints their way. Inventio spreads it's wings beyond that. Across a glitching, glimmering constellation of 10 tracks, the record redraws the boundaries of her own subconscious through daring harmonic modulations, glitchy electronica, and frenetic orchestral sequencing. Deeply informed by Nordic folklore, it moves through a journey confronting body dysmorphia, control, and a staccatoing sense of self - reaching toward creative and emotional liberation through ethereal, amorphous avant-pop. Within the work, the artist made the deliberate choice to take the focus away from her physical self - a protest, but also a tribute to the countless versions that form one person. ""It's not about disappearing or being anonymous,"" she says, ""more about loosening the grip of appearance, and letting the work exist without being defined by it."" Named for Bach's Inventions - played on piano growing up - Inventio carries a Baroque sensibility: trilling polyphonic textures and lush vocal harmonies rising above it all. Sonic touchstones include Björk, Elizabeth Fraser, and the kulning-style singing of Lena Willemark. Made across three years in Sweden, the album was built without Murex knowing it would become one. Collaborators including Pelle Westlin, Isak Hedtjärn, and Elvira Anderfjärd gave the work what Murex calls ""extra arms."" All music videos are directed by Murex herself. ""Making this album gave me back authority and power. I hope it's just as freeing to listen to.""