For a little bit in the late 2000s, it seemed like “chamber pop by a classically trained female multi-instrumentalist that used to be in Sufjan Stevens’ touring band” was posed to become its own genre.

And while St. Vincent’s Annie Clark has found the most enduring success out of that crowd, I’m not sure anyone has topped My Brightest Diamond’s stunning second record.

I first became aware of Shara Nova from her appearance as the Fairy Queen on the Decemberist’s prog-tinged epic concept album The Hazards of Love, where her fiery voice pealed across the soundscape like the Rock Gods of yore, funneling the passion of Janis Joplin with the power of Robert Plant.

So when I discovered that she had her own project, I rushed to it. And while I was initially a little disappointed that there’s none of the thundering rock and roll catharsis from her work with the Decemberists, I’ve come to absolutely love this record.

A Thousand Shark’s Teeth is a dense and mercurial record, seeping with lush arrangements, dark atmospheres, and charming melodies. Shara’s songwriting is as deft and precise as it is chameleonic, as likely to sing about the galaxies discovered inside of a lover as stealing apples from her grandfather’s tree.

Musically, she combines a world of influences into a cohesive record. “Inside A Boy” conjures up Radiohead while channeling a powerful voice that takes more queues from Jeff Buckley than her former band leader. “To Pluto’s Moon” starts delicately with a wash of strings and harps, then introduces a jazz-tinged groove not unlike Talk Talk’s later career. “Bass Player” covers an unsurprisingly prominent bass riff with woodwinds and mallet instruments, leading to a dramatic orchestral finale. “Apple” is bright and mischievous, pairing a quick shuffling beat with a kalimba. “Like a Sieve” seems to have a percussion section of pots and pans underneath its plucked violins.

It’s a deceptively epic record for something that, if memory serves, received almost no marketing at all. It was released on the indie label Asthmatic Kitty to little or no pomp. I discovered it in a record store in 2009 for $7.99 (the handwritten price tag is still on the polybag). But sonically, this plays like a capital-i Important Record. Whole worlds are conjured in Nova’s lyrics, with arrangements to match. I can think of very few acts that have made records that felt this important without a big label budget.

But having seen her live, I can assure you that this is Shara Nova’s gift. These songs are just as hypnotizing with just a drum machine, looper, and electric guitar as they are with the layers of strings, woodwinds, electronics, and percussion that accompanies her here. She is fully aware of how to utilize the tools at her disposal to be completely irresistible. And while A Thousand Shark’s Teeth may seem a bit too ambitious for a small artist on an indie label, Nova pulls off every moment.