Formerly of the aggressive feminist punk outfit Silverfish, Leslie Rankine renamed herself Ruby in 1995 and changed her musical tactics. Instead of hard-edged post-punk, Ruby’s music is a dark, eerie fusion of trip-hop and industrial, with quietly menacing beats and droning synths. Although it could be said that she was simply trend-hopping with Salt Peter, Ruby’s music is substantially better than Silverfish — it’s more provocative, as well as better written. Not all of the album works, but Salt Peter remains a promising debut. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine