Arbouretum

Arbouretum's frontman Dave Heumann lives and works in Baltimore. He has played with Anomoanon, Bonnie "prince" Billy, Cass McCombs and Papa M. Arbouretum is the first band for which he is the primary songwriter, guitarist, and singer. Heumann's idea for the band was one whose songs would evoke natural forms and movements as opposed to architectural constructions with rigid forms and linear progressions. Whilst the band's hard-to-find debut was largely an individual process with players working to articulate Heumann's vision, latest album, Rites of Uncovering, released on Thrill Jockey at the start of 2007 is the work of a group. Long-time friend Walker David Teret is a multi-instrumentalist who has played in many of the same groups as Heumann and primarily plays the guitar in the current lineup, but plays a variety of instruments on Rites of Uncovering. Also on the album is drummer Mitchell Feldstein of Lungfish, who filled in when David Bergander (of Love Life and the Celebration) had to depart for other commitments mid-way through the recording. Bassist Corey Allender also played in bands such as Stars of the Dogon, Fascist Fascist, and Cass McCombs' band before joining Arbouretum. When performing, their epic guitar solos, Heumann says, "our approach is one of collective deconstruction, whereby we take apart the melodic and the rhythmic ideas of a song, turn them sideways, backwards, or invert them in order to explore and develop the song's possibilities." Arbouretum plans to tour heavily in support of this release, but warns that live versions of the songs may bear only a passing resemblance to the recordings. "They exist so as to be forever interpreted anew...ideally, at least." We could hope for nothing less!

Links

www.thrilljockey.com