Arbouretum

Arbouretum is an American folk rock band from Baltimore, United States. It forms in 2002 around singer and guitarist Dave Heumann and remains active. The group’s music sits within folk rock, but it also draws on psychedelic rock, doom folk and stoner rock, combining traditional song structures and melodies with heavy, fuzz-driven guitar sound and extended solos.

Formation and early recordings

The band begins in late 2002. Its early lineup changes frequently, and its first album, Long Live the Well-Doer (2004), is built mainly around Heumann, drummer David Bergander and multi-instrumentalist Walker Teret. The record also includes guest appearances by Ned Oldham, Jennifer Hutt and others. On later releases, many of the lyrics are written as a collaboration between Heumann and songwriter Rob Wilson, who founds Television Hill, another band Heumann also plays in.

Albums and line-up changes

Rites of Uncovering (2007) is recorded in three sessions over two years and includes material involving Bergander, Teret, Mitchell Feldstein, Neil Aviles and Corey Allender. Allender becomes a permanent member, and the album is the first Arbouretum release on Thrill Jockey. The 2009 album Song of the Pearl features Heumann and Allender alongside drummer Daniel Franz and guitarist Steve Strohmeier, and it is recorded by Rob Girardi at Lord Baltimore Recording in Baltimore.

After Franz leaves in late 2009 to play full-time with Beach House, Heumann restructures the band with drummer Brian Carey and keyboardist/percussionist Matthew Pierce. This quartet records The Gathering (2011) in Brooklyn with Matt Boynton. The album has a denser and heavier sound than the previous record, and three of its seven songs include extended instrumental passages. In 2011 the band also releases Aureola, a split 12-inch LP with Hush Arbors, with three Arbouretum tracks recorded by Kevin Bernsten at Developing Nation Studios in Baltimore.

Coming Out of the Fog

Coming Out of the Fog is released in 2013 and receives generally favourable reviews. It uses the same four-piece line-up as The Gathering and the Arbouretum side of Aureola, with pedal steel player Dave Hadley added for the album’s two quieter songs. The record is tracked in July 2012 at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore with Steve Wright, and Walker Teret serves as co-producer.

Current members

The group’s named members include Mitchell Feldstein, John Carey, David Heumann and Matthew Pierce.