Wrené succumbs to the all-consuming pain of heartache in her brooding new anti-pop ballad Deflect, Dissolve — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Weaving together experimental electronica, ambient, and avant-garde elements, the haunting four-minute ballad explores disconnection — and previews the concept of her forthcoming album Metamorphosis, a sonic exploration through the process of change and the perspective that comes with passing time.
Deflect, Dissolve was written during the recovery process of an emotionally wounding relationship for the Toronto talent, but Wrené hopes it “offers more than it being my own self-serving ‘breakup song,’” and can bring its own meaning to the listener.
Wrené’s lyrics have always served as a testament to her poetic imagery, and Deflect, Dissolve is no different. We are forced to examine whether the love we give in a relationship is enough: “All I give, you can’t absorb,” she sings over chilling pianos and spatial drum machines. “I stare in a two-way mirror — nothing behind there, nothing between us,” she continues, inviting listeners on a journey of introspection.
Whether she’s delivering healing frequencies and subliminal messages like on the Transmuting Darkness EP or experimenting with foley sounds like on the Live Wire LP, Wrené’s body of work is meant for the outsiders; those who abandon the mundane superficialities of life, “My music is a playground for escapists, rebels, and those who are interested in the abstract.”
In doing so, she has been able to create otherworldly, serene, and ethereal soundscapes that encapsulate dark and light, “I’m interested in hosting my mind as a wonderland for others to visit; to get away from the pain, monotony, and meaninglessness of life.”
More importantly, she wants her music to embody universal truths that are rarely heard in mainstream music, “I aim to challenge the conventions of popular music,” she says. “By offering an unorthodox perspective as well as a deeper level of authenticity and vulnerability than what is offered in music being pumped out to the masses.”
Many see water as the element with healing powers, a belief reflected in the video for Deflect, Dissolve. Like a siren signing you to a shipwreck, Wrené’s chilling aquatic movements in the video joined with her poetic lyrics really bring the meaning of Deflect, Dissolve to a new level.
Shot by Kenzie Yango in a repurposed intex pool in the garage of Wrené’s parents’ house in Newmarket, the soulful vocalist “couldn’t be happier with the result” — even though the water was absolutely freezing and she was “quite miserable and cranky during the shooting.” But with a very high level of creativity on a low budget with limited resources, she says it shows how “you really can create so much out of seemingly so little.”
Watch the video for Deflect, Dissolve above, hear more from Wrené below and connect with her at her website and Instagram.
