I’ve been going through a massive Emma Ruth Rundle phase lately. It all started when I revisited On Dark Horses and realized that it’s probably in my top fifty records of all time. In the couple weeks since, I’ve revisited the many, many other projects of hers I have.

When that wasn’t enough, I took to Discogs to fill the gaps in my collection. Most glaring of these was Some Heavy Ocean, her first outing as a solo singer-songwriter (as opposed to her proper solo debut, Electric Guitar: One, which was a series of instrumental improvisations). And while Some Heavy Ocean doesn’t have as much metallic heaviness as her later solo records, it’s hardly straightforward folk either. The sonic palette borrows a lot of atmosphere from her time in post rock and shoegaze bands. While I have previously used her melding of country, post rock, and doom metal as a major selling point, this record proves that it’s not a make-or-break element in her sound. Here, finger picked acoustics, strings, and pedal steels carry the arrangements rather than crunchy baritones and fiery slide guitar. It’s hardly straightforward folk though, nor is it as stripped as Engine of Hell. A thick layer of reverb coats the whole thing, and the occasional synth drone or tape manipulation pulls it into experimental weirdness. On the last track, “Living With a Black Dog” she even runs her acoustic guitar through a fuzz pedal, offering a prescient look at her later albums.

The quieter arrangements do a great job though of putting her songwriting front and center—not that the louder full band stuff ever obscured it. But with songs as strong as “Arms I Know So Well,” it’s almost safer to not take that chance.