Heather Woods Broderick’s trip to her second album is an interesting road taken. These days it’s practically an anomaly.

After releasing her first album in 2009, the singer-songwriter spent five years playing guitar in other artist’s bands, just one of the cats in the group. But she used that time to develop a signature sound, one dominated by an electric guitar, bathed in reverb and delay.

Whereas her debut was a sparser, sedate, acoustic affair, Glider features more instruments – bass, drums, piano, synthesizer – in addition to electric guitar for a broader, more dynamic sound that really works. Particularly satisfying tracks include the album-opener, “Up In The Pine,” and “Wyoming,” where Broderick slowly builds into a hypnotic quasi-waltz ending in guitar-fury meltdown.

For overall reference think ’90s alt rock band Bedhead, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, New Zealand guitarist-composer Roy Montgomery, and Cocteau Twins.

Ultimately, Glider is an evocative and fully successful second release, a true testament to accomplishment via hunkering down with your instrument.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s January ’16 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.