Erika M. Anderson performs as EMA.

Erika M. Anderson, the former front-woman of noise folk cult favorites Gowns, thrives on soul baring statements in her music. The words on her debut Past Life Martyred Saints reflect the nasty break-up with her former band and bandmate Ezra Buchla.

It’s difficult to enjoy EMA’s music. It makes sense that the Red Palace was half-empty last night, but for those who stood and listened, they found words and melodies that stick with you. “I wish every time he touched it left a mark” from “Marked”, “Twenty kisses with a butterfly knife” from set opener “Butterfly Knife”, and “if you don’t love me someone will” from “Red Star” are just a few memorable lines as Anderson and her band created showers of swirling feedback and piercing synths.

Given the dour words found across the album, one would expect few words from the enigmatic singer. In fact, Anderson was the exact opposite. She was cheerful, smiling, joking with and thanking the audience behind her platinum blonde bangs between songs. Supported by her little sister on drums, Lief Shackelford on violin and “magic things” (her words, not mine) and guitarist Nicky Mao, EMA took her time building brooding, twisted alt-rock while rearranging the nine songs from her debut. One of the highlights of the night was a moving a cappella version of a song, describing a night with someone despite the consequences the next morning. It was a jarring moment of courageous beauty.

But the penultimate moment of the concert was set closer and single “California”. A spoken word diss to The Golden State, it was a jolt of faraway drum thuds and drones as Anderson mimicked the choreography from the music video. The focus of the song is a roar of loss delivered in a conversational tone. The delivery is magnetic and human. It’s a testament to Anderson’s ability to turn something troubled into something that sounds important and vital.