Labradford’s early work didn’t do all that much for me, but everything changed with their third album. Adroitly blending their dense atmospherics with surprisingly melodic arrangements, the Virginia post-rock trio’s self-titled album isn’t just the most accessible album in their too-brief existence, it’s also the most compelling and adventurous.

Of course, “accessible” is a totally relative term for an album that begins with the ominous sound of chains being dragged over metal tanks. Labradford is a winter album; the band’s instruments sound like they’re coated in ice, the songs unfold at a glacier’s pace, and Mark Nelson’s voice never rises above a chilly whisper. When he sighs “And even precious memories/Feel more like documentaries/Of someone else’s life” on album standout “Pico,” the sense of icy exhaustion is palpable.

But for all of their wintry atmospherics, these songs are nevertheless gorgeous, especially when Chris Johnston’s violin comes sweeping in on “Midrange” and “Scenic Recovery.” The aforementioned “Pico” drifts by on a ghostly synth melody while “Battered” suggests vast, lonely Arctic nights with the Northern Lights swirling about high overhead.