Emma Ruth Rundle

Electric Guitar 1

(Errant Child)

Record Review by Joe Cortez

I've noticed that the older I get, the more difficult it is for a song, much less an entire album, to move me the way music used to when I was younger - but I still like to take a chance on something new. Every once in a while, I luck out. I had no idea what to expect when I loaded up Emma Ruth Rundle's latest solo album, Electric Guitar 1, but from the eerie sounds of the haunting opening track, I knew I was in for something special.

Some may know Rundle as a member of bands The Red Sparowes [previously showered with some serious love elsewhere on this site] and The Nocturnes. At the risk of losing some oh so precious street cred, I feel I need to come clean and admit that I had never heard of either band before writing this review. In fact, on first listen I was under the assumption that Rundle was European. Color me shocked when I learned that she is actually based right here in Los Angeles. However, given that three of the album's tracks, "Oslo Part 1, 2" and "Göteborg," are named after cities in Norway and Sweden, respectively, I really don't think anyone would blame me for thinking so. In any case, from its stubbornly dense production to that straight-to-the-point-yet-ever-esoteric title, there really isn't much on Electric Guitar 1 to suggest that it was made by an American much less an Angeleno and I think the final product is all the better for it.

It's pretty easy for a musician to lay down some tracks on guitar, add lots of effects after the fact and write it off as experimental; clearly this is not what Rundle had in mind when setting about to make this album. Here is a very gifted talent with a distinct vision who isn't merely flailing about in the studio making weird noises but rather building dark, ethereal and even beautiful soundscapes that became logged in my head like the catchiest of top 40 hits. It's difficult for me to single out any individual tracks on the album that standout seeing as there are only six cuts total and Electric Guitar 1 actually feels more like a suite than a traditional rock album, with each track comprising a movement. As a whole I found it to be endlessly compelling, wondering where it would go next to the point where I almost felt a twinge of guilt when I had to pause the album out of sheer necessity (such as eating and sleeping).

Admittedly, as adventurous as the album may seem, Rundle isn't exactly reinventing the wheel with Electric Guitar 1. Her discordant symphony of distortion and reverb owes much to the likes of Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth and, dare I say, even Brian Eno. Certainly it goes without saying that devotees of these esteemed artists will find much to like here. It must be said, though, that these comparisons in no way diminish Rundle's own achievement as she has crafted a very special work that stands on its own.

In case you can't tell by my enthusiasm, Electric Guitar 1 comes at a fairly pivotal moment for me personally as just as I was becoming pretty tired with everything I was hearing, suddenly this album comes out of nowhere and completely takes me by surprise. I openly admit that Rundle is pushing all of my buttons in the best possible way with this album. While it may not be for everyone, for the more open minded I have no problem in giving my highest possible recommendation for Electric Guitar 1.