Mary Eliza

Mary Eliza lives in Portland now, but before she moved there, she lived in Bend.

And before she lived in Bend, she lived in a van for five years, crisscrossing the Western United States in pursuit of spontaneity and experiences that she could then turn into songs.

“I was playing shows all over, (and it) fostered a lot of really good writing for me as well,” she said.

The itinerant life eventually landed her in Central Oregon, somewhat accidentally.

“I was on my way up to Canada when I just kind of ran out of gas money in Bend,” she said. “I started teaching music to make some money and loved that job, loved my students, made a bunch of friends and ended up sticking around.”

Eliza was living in a tiny house on the west side of town when she wrote most of the tunes on her new album, “Spider,” which comes out Friday. Produced by Preston Cochran — best known for his work with Lucy Dacus — it’s a collection of 10 tracks that skillfully brings together two of Eliza’s interests: Delicately beautiful and honest folk-pop songs and occasional noisy sonic surprises that give those songs an unexpected and indispensable edge.

“Personally, I love it when music keeps me on my toes,” she said. “I like records that are more (mellow) the whole way through, too, but I felt like this best represented what my life has felt like recently, with the chaos moving into calm and peace. It just fit for me.”

To hear examples of this dichotomy, listen to the album’s second track, “Fire,” wherein a gentle folk song is consumed by heavily distorted guitars in the chorus and even a distorted demon-like voice for a couple of seconds. Or listen to the fourth track — the lilting lullaby “The Fall” — and then the fifth track, “Porcelain,” which starts out with a series of aggressive, fuzzed-out drum beats.

Not all tracks on “Spider” employ radical dynamic shifts, however. Songs like “Circles” and “Cerina” are vibrant and catchy folk-pop songs that would fit nicely on a record by Waxahatchee or Madi Diaz.

Eliza’s unique blend of sounds recalls classic albums like Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” which she calls “a big influence.” Also an influence: Her upbringing in California’s Bay Area, where she played on street corners with her family’s bluegrass band. That’s when she learned to play instruments and also came out of her soft-spoken shell. Before she was even a teenager, she was “making (songs) instead of journaling,” she said.

She has recorded other albums DIY-style, but she calls “Spider” her debut because she put so much more time and effort and resources into it than she did her previous work.

“It’s kind of the arrival for me,” she said. “I think I’ve come to a point where I understand what I want to say, and it just made sense sonically for these songs to have drums and bass and experimental keys and stuff like that. It just felt right, and it turned into this record that I absolutely love.”

If You Go

Who: Mary Eliza, with Palo Sopraño and Chiggi Momo

When: 8 p.m. Sunday, doors open 7 p.m.

Where: Volcanic Theatre Pub, 70 SW Century Drive, Bend

Cost: $15 in advance, $25 at the door

Contact: volcanictheatre.com