Nikolai Tesla knew what he was doing. So does James Marler, leader of the fascinating New Orleans project The Electric Arch, which makes music that approximates the soundtrack to some particularly great Tesla coil visuals a la Frankenstein.

Tesla’s electric arc is the lightning-like flow of electric current between two electrodes which occurs when electricity jumps from one electrode to another. The connection made from the jump creates a crackling arc of visible electrons.

Marler’s Electric Arch is a fascinating solo project on which he and producer Matthew Cloutier essentially create all the music (with several contributions from session players). It’s an enveloping sound that is at once in the moment and suggestive of past influences.

I used to marvel at Marler’s indie rock band Rotary Downs, which was a band rooted in a New Orleans identity that had nothing to do with what most people expect to hear from musicians in this city. I used to imagine them coming out of a Brooklyn loft, a Boston garage or a basement in Manchester, England. The band was merely prophetic, though, as the New Millennium inhabitors of New Orleans bring with them a host of decidedly non-New Orleans soundscapes.

One of Marler’s influences is immediately apparent on the opening track, “Crisps & Crackers,” an oblique tale accompanied by voice-led-beats that recall some of the more ingenious rock rhythms conjured by the late Rick Ocasek of the Cars. The keyboard-dominated sound is layered in much the same way that Radiators keyboardist Ed Volker assembles his fascinating solo discs at his home studio in Bayou St. John.

The instrumental component of Out of Range is startlingly effulgent, crackling along on shimmering dreams like “Postcard to Celeste,” “Las Ramblas,” “Granada,” “Moving to the Islands” and “Lost City.” Are we in New Orleans, or the Costa Brava? I can’t tell, the light is too bright, the melodies dancing along just out of reach. But it’s a satisfying listen.