#or:la

Dig just a scratch deeper and you’ll find a record that’s political and pointed, if not necessarily insular. Or:la’s motives behind the music are meant to capture “sapphic love, friendship and defiance against the still-neverending injustices against the feminine.” Much is also made of her attraction to Greek (in addition to being the eighth letter of that alphabet, the theta referred to here is of theta brain waves, which occur in states of “autopilot” or deep relaxation) and Celtic (which favorably views women for being healers, mothers and leaders) mythology. Other than the 3D-printed bust of Or:la on the album cover, however, the mythologies play into things little beyond spirit compared with the feminine nods she offers in titles like “Cooking Up Pepper Spray With Mary Lake” and, most definitively, “Patriarchy Purge.” This is not one for the boys.

It is, rather, a record for anyone in support of evening out the odds. For Or:la, that means drawing from her community, the people immediately around her — and in addition to the recipe discussion with DJing compatriot Lake, the features from fellow Derry native Bridie Monds-Watson, aka Rough Trade veteran SOAK, as well as Rinse FM staple and Rosebud Recordings head Eliza Rose help flesh out her vision, help channel the percolating anger and frustration.

Carefully deployed, these features keep listeners locked in throughout what’s actually a pretty lean record — despite the suggestion of a label name like Deep Sea Frequency and the proof of concept that many of her sets turn out to be, the nine songs fly by at less than 35 minutes. She covers a lot of ground, too, which shouldn’t come as a surprise; her sets have long eschewed any one style in favor of rhythmic crosspollination, and Trusting Theta is no different. Whether it be the slow-mo first-wave dubstep influence of opener “Milky Way of Glitter” or nigh-EBM machinations of “Cooking Up Pepper Spray With Mary Lake” or big synth plinks of first single “Fired Up,” listening for what’s happening in the production is a full-time affair.

Which is what this record is really about. The party line might say Trusting Theta is a debut album of defiance, but she’s also saying it’s about women’s “quiet conversations, intimate moments and mournful prayers, projecting them out into the world.” For all the girls who get it, this one’s dedicated to you; for all the girls (and anyone else) who don’t, stop what you’re doing and listen, focus, understand. Then trust.