Description
Label Review.
2017 album.
Our Overview.
Arbouretum the Baltimore-based quartet founded by guitarist and vocalist Dave Heumann, effortlessly weaves its melodies and guitar solos with the often hypnotic rhythms of bassist Corey Allender and drummer Brian Carey around the deliberate keyboard of Matthew Pierce to lift the vocals. The results are a full sound delivered with a striking sense of intimacy with lyrics that explore elements of philosophy, mysticism, redemption, and the implications of human “progress.” Songs are written in poetic form as Heumann, the bands lyricist, prefers stories remain abstract and open rather than a more typical storytelling format, all within a more traditional song structure.
Throughout their time together,they have released a score of acclaimed albums on the Thrill Jockey label, a home that finds them in the company of tour mates & worthy peers like Pontiak, Eternal Tapesty, Wooden Shjips & Barn Owl and have been praised for their ability to weave elaborate vocal lines and guitar solos that often unravel into extended improvisation but never with as much finesse as on the masterfully crafted ‘Song Of The Rose’. In less practiced hands, these ideas could easily fall into contrivance but on ‘Song of the Rose’ Arbouretum use these elements to perfect their craft of storytelling in song, both lyrically and sonically.
They recorded ‘Song Of The Rose’ with Steve Wright at Wrightway Studios. While previous records were recorded in a matter of days, ‘Song Of The Rose’ took weeks. Attention to production details augment their time-tested emphasis on capturing the energy of performance. ‘Song Of The Rose’ is the first time the band has mixed with Kyle Spence (Kurt Vile, Luke Roberts, Harvey Milk) at his studios in Athens, GA.
“You won’t be able to tear yourself away” - Prog Magazine.
“Arbouretum excels at casting hypnotic spells with their songs” - Premier Guitar.
“Vintage psych-blues riffs and mid-paced wig-outs that have burst forth from Arbouretum… Heumann has one of the most distinctive voices around, with a unique, heavy-folk feel to his grand, hymnal melodies” - Guardian.
“Simple minor key melodies take on the resonances of pagan hymns, as on the churning, cement-mixer groove of ‘Waxing Crescents’ carried by Brian Carey’s rumbling drum patterns & Corey Allender’s fat fuzz bass… Heumann cuts through the swamp like a backwoods Richard Thompson, fusing folk, droning psychedelic rock & even a touch of Tinariwen’s Tuareg desert blues in his snaking, modal solos.” - The Stool Pigeon.
CD version in 4 panel mini-LP style gatefold package. LP pressed on virgin vinyl with artworked inner sleeve download coupon.