Of the eight tracks on Arbouretum's second album and first for Thrill Jockey, 2007's Rites of Uncovering , only four finished their damaged, crunchy, soul-blues sighs in less than four minutes. The others barreled beyond the five, seven, eight, and 11-minute marks, respectively, all powered by the spiraling guitar solos of Dave Heumann. At Rites of Uncovering 's best, Heumann sounded like indie rock's new guitar idol, unpredictably dodging strict meter, melody, and form. Like Jerry Garcia circa 1972, Heumann crested the rhythm section, pulling his outfit through thundering rock and scorching noise. The band was plenty good, you know, except the show belonged to this guy .
But of the eight tracks on Arbouretum's third album, Song of the Pearl , only one breaks the six-minute mark (and barely so). What's left of Heumann's guitar heroics have largely been folded into the songs-beneath or between the verses-or truncated so that they no longer comprise the album's apex. Song of the Pearl feels more like the work of a seasoned rock band that's experimenting with textures like strings and piano while focusing the songs with conventional restraints. Thing is, before Song , this quartet only recorded three tracks as a band. On Kale, the band's 2008 split with labelmates Pontiak, the unit's workmanlike stability gave Heumann's ideas room to roam. The promise of those tracks goes largely unfulfilled on Song .
Arbouretum becomes less of a trio supporting Heumann and more of a quartet featuring Heumann here. The move doesn't play to Arbouretum's strengths, meaning that-at worst-this hits like a "jam band" flatlining through a proper studio session. Like Rites , Song of the Pearl is alternately driving or drifting, anxious or languid. The extremes are less compelling, though, and the bulk of the record feels too staid to be effective. The first four tracks float right by, the band plodding through opener "False Spring" and "Another Hiding Place". The title track trots in and out at mid-tempo, strings rising swiftly between each line. It's an awkward stumbling block for the song's sidewinding motion, and it leaves little of an impression.
The second side is a bit more aggressive, at least, from the italicized beat and strident electric tone of opener "Thin Dominion" to the multiple spiraling guitar passes that sprint in every direction during "Infinite Corridors". Closer "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" is Arbouretum's best slow number yet, a smoldering reflection for a guitar with strings that sound as if they've been gathering rust for an eon, played through an amplifier sutured with string and scotch tape. Heumann's voice acts just as beleaguered, barely able to wash past the damage.
Change often hinges on trade-offs, and Arbouretum's shift from the rangy dynamism of Rites to the stunted kinetics of Song of the Pearl is no different: Though he leads us less with his guitar, Heumann's words are sharper now. On Rites , he felt like a formal poet, filling his verse with forced end-rhymes that reflected allegiance to rules, not song. Heumann relaxes here instead, taking the rhymes when they come but not overreaching.
Song 's more considered writing is the record's real payoff. As the band rages through "The Midnight Cry", the story of 19th century New England priest William Miller's failed apocalyptic prophecy, Heumann relies on repetition and redundant rhymes to differentiate the verses-- a smart strategy that binds the cascading narrative. On the other hand, Heumann's anxious imagery during "The Fall Line"-- the collapse of the sun, the evil eyes of wolves, the peering watchman of the moon-- tumbles down without rhyme, meaning our narrator has more pressing worries than propriety.
Perhaps praising Heumann's improved writing plays like faint praise, but it's as significant a step in the right direction as tightening the instrumental belt is in the wrong direction. That it took just two years and one album to do both reflects Heumann's ability and desire to take this band anywhere. Movement, after all, made those old guitar solos glorious. You've got to think that, even after this net setback, Arbouretum's best work remains in its future.
