Arriving five years after her last record, 2018's , sees vibraphonist team up with an entirely new lineup of collaborators, most of whom bring experience as leaders of their own groups to the table: pianist (best known for his work with ), alto saxophonist , bassist (with whom played in ), and drummer . Written in Paris, her home country of Taiwan, and her adopted home of New York, the album -- and especially its centerpiece, a three-piece suite entitled "Liberated Gesture" -- is inspired by German-French abstract expressionist painter Hans Hartung's aesthetic as well as his ideas about freedom being at the core of the artistic process. covers a lot of ground, and finds inspiration in arts and ideas just as much as in life itself. "Siren Days," for example, references the sound of ambulance sirens during the pandemic lockdown in New York, and its repetitive piano motif may suggest those sirens, while the jumpy rhythm harkens back to the anxiety of the experience. Similarly, "Hi-Tech Pros and Cons," with its agitated rhythms inspired by unreliable technology, or the large canvas of the title piece suggest that the idea of freedom is more dramatic than joyful -- even "Character," which starts off with a more relaxed flow and has and exploring the territory with a measured balance of precision and curiosity, ultimately feels restless. The album's final piece, "Hassan's Fashion Magazine," named after Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj, allows the musicians to have a bit more fun, with a deliberately funky rhythm giving the opportunity to adopt a more playful approach. Elsewhere, the album feels much more serious, especially when it comes to the record's emotional high point, "Didion," inspired by writer Joan Didion and her Pulitzer-winning meditation on grief, The Year of Magical Thinking. It's an intense piece, but as on many other occasions on and her musicians manage to find beauty in the song's tension. Another highlight is "Naked Swimmer," a tender composition whose impressionistic, careful development results in the album's most visual track. There is more to discover on the album -- for example, "She Goes to a Silent War," which starts with a poem written by and recited by before giving the latter space for a lyrical solo. is an engaging record that showcases as a musician with a definitive voice of her own. ~ Christian Genzel