Emma Ruth Rundle - On Dark Horses (Sargent House, 2018)

Emma Ruth Rundle
On Dark Horses
Sargent House
2018

Rating: 8.5 intentionally calm enemies out of 10

There is still value to be gained from reading the myriad “best of <insert year>” lists that dominate the internet in December – sure, most of them are all pimping the same handful buzz-approved (mostly mainstream pop & hip hop) acts that you can easily ignore if you want, but occasionally a gem you’ve never heard of slips through.  That was the case with Emma Ruth Rundle and her fourth record “On Dark Horses” - the cat over at Swan Fungus put them high on his list, included an mp3 (yes, I still download and listen to those), and I was sold.  He posts a lot of metal and noise/experimental music that I rarely dig, but he hits me with something out of the blue often enough that I keep checking back, and this hit was a grand slam.  God knows I love a comparison, but I’m struggling with this one; the best touchstone I have is Bellafea, Heather McEntire’s pre-Mount Moriah band, a band that is barely known outside of the Triangle (and given how long ago they ended, only known in the Triangle amongst old folks like myself).  And the more I think about it, it’s really just the voices of Heather and Emma that make the connection in my head. 

So with no direct comparison available, “On Dark Horses” might be best described as dark folk-pop that at all times sounds like it might turn into metal, but never does.  It‘s dark and gloomy and minor-key’d and feels like a walk on a chilly, overcast day where it’s threatening to start raining at any minute, but you’re walking fast hoping to get to your destination before the clouds open up.  It’s fucking brilliant and would have easily finished high on my best of 2018 list had I heard it in that calendar year, I’ve been listening to it non-stop for the last month.  The pseudo-title track “Darkhorse” is the gold standard of the album, but there isn’t anything close to a weak link from start to finish.  The felt real goddamn smart thinking this has an almost-metal vibe when I learned just recently that Emma also plays in Red Sparowes, the (probably defunct?) post-metal act that were hot shit in my circle back in the mid-oughts.  I liked Red Sparowes, but this solo work of hers blows them out of the water.  Best of all, learning about a new artist on their fourth record means I have so much more new Emma Ruth Rundle music to discover!