Grouper: The Man Who Died In His Boat

Singer-songwriter and drone mastermind Liz Harris has a knack for making lullabies out of deep waters of noise.

Her best-known (and probably just best) record is 2008’s “Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill.”

That album featured strummed acoustic guitars and clear-ish vocals. It’s gorgeous and more approachable than her other work, which tends to focus on the space between ambient tape loops and delay-heavy melodies.

Harris also has a knack for keeping busy. She’s released a double album, singles, split EPs and performance pieces since “Dead Deer” was released. Her productivity makes releasing past work seem strange, however welcome.

The tracks on “The Man Who Died In His Boat” were recorded after midnight during the same sessions as “Dead Deer,” and the album has a similarly sleepy sound.

The songs can be short and sweet, but most head for space, like a retreat into memory or dreams to better deal with waking life.

Sparse standout “Living Room” is the best articulation of Grouper’s project yet: “I’m looking for the place the spirit meets the skin.”

At the album’s echoing highs, that boundary feels as unsteady as a rocking boat.