Jen Wood first came to national attention as the other part of Tattletale -- she and Madigan Shive were the antithesis of riot-grrl fashionability during the early nineties. After Tattletale disbanded in 1995, Wood produced two critically acclaimed albums, No More Wading and Getting Past the Static. This four song EP is her first release since 1997. Her music has been described as having a "stark folkish beauty", though folk-inspired is a more appropriate phrase. While Wood's songs are musically spare (Katrina Thomson assists on guitar on vocals while Jayson Tolzdorf drums), there is a boldness conveyed by Wood's honestly emotive voice, acoustic cleverness and oscillating percussive manoeuvers. "Ride", the EP's opener, has a deceptively gentle beginning and by the fourth verse has thrown the listener into shards of cymbals and acoustic debris. "Lie 4 a Lie" is about crumbling facades; the arrangement ebbs and flows so much that on the first listen one isn't sure if the tune will end on an abrupt bang or dwindle away in quiet reticence. "Let's Fight" chronicles a dysfunctional familial relationship in which the protagonist accepts the situation without accepting the blame. It's one of the most satisfying prizes on the EP with its towering melody and matter-of-fact delivery ("You're as cold as ice and my love will never melt you"). "See-Through", the final track, doesn't let the intensity abate but keeps emotional flames burning high.

Some will regard Wood's lyrics as self-indulgent over-analysis, but what she's singing about are the transitions in people, places and things -- and about making sense of the changes that one is often forced to endure. The only issue I have with This Uncontainable Light is that I wish it had included four more songs.