Supposedly, Emma Ruth Rundle lives in Portland. The gothic folk singer/songwriter relocated here from Los Angeles last summer, just prior to the release of her darkly emotional third album, Marked for Death. Or at least most of her possessions did—she’s been on the road nearly nonstop ever since.
Rundle hasn’t spent much time here in 2017, either. She’s toured European and has a few more swings through the US. These are the promotional obligations of the modern musician. The results seem to justify the outlay of time and energy that touring requires, as Marked for Death received warm reviews from major music publications, and she’s seen plenty of fans at her shows. At the same time, she sounds ready to move forward.
“If I had my absolute druthers, I wouldn’t tour this music in this way,” Rundle says, speaking from a truck stop in Alabama. “There was a lot of dread about going out and playing these songs at first. I didn’t want to do it. I had written all these new songs between the time I had recorded [Marked] and when it was released. I wanted to tour these songs that no one had heard before.”