About Arbouretum

Arbouretum is an American Rock band started in late 2002 by singer/guitarist Dave Heumann of Baltimore, Maryland. Their music has been described as folk rock, doom folk, psychedelic rock, and stoner rock, often blending traditional song-forms and melodies with a heavy, fuzz-based tonality and long, expressive guitar solos. The band's lineup has changed considerably since its inception. The first album, Long Live the Well-Doer (2004), featured Heumann, drummer David Bergander and multi instrumentalist Walker Teret as the core band for the bulk of the sessions, and elsewhere featured appearances by Ned Oldham, Jennifer Hutt, and others. As with all subsequent releases, many of the lyrics were written as a collaboration between Heumann and songwriter Rob Wilson (founder of the band Television Hill, which Heumann also plays in). Their second record, Rites of Uncovering (2007), was recorded in three sessions over two years. It featured Bergander and Teret and well, but also pulled some of its material from sessions that included Mitchell Feldstein, Neil Aviles, and Corey Allender, with Allender becoming a now-permanent addition to the band. This was the first Arbouretum record to be released by the Chicago-based Thrill Jockey record label. Their 2009 release, Song of the Pearl, included Heumann and Allender, and also featured drummer Daniel Franz and guitarist Steve Strohmeier. The album was recorded by Rob Girardi at Lord Baltimore Recording in Baltimore, MD. After Daniel Franz left in late 2009 to pursue playing full-time with Beach House, Heumann took the opportunity to re-structure the band and its sound, adding drummer Brian Carey and keybordist/percussionist Matthew Pierce. The quartet of Allender, Carey, Heumann, and Pierce went on to record the band's fourth full-length, 2011's The Gathering, over a ten-day period in Brooklyn, NY with Matt Boynton, who had also recorded much of the material for Rites of Uncovering. The album's sound was characterized by a denser, heavier sound than its predecessor, with three of its seven songs featuring extended instrumental passages. 2011 saw the release of Aureola, a split 12" LP with Hush Arbors. It included three songs on Arbouretum's side, which were recorded by Kevin Bernsten at Baltimore's Developing Nation Studios. In January 2013, the band's fifth full-length, Coming Out of the Fog, was released to generally favorable reviews. The lineup on this record is the same four-piece responsible for The Gathering and Arbouretum's half of Aureola, with pedal steel player Dave Hadley brought in for the album's two quieter songs. It was recorded in July 2012 at Baltimore's Wrightway studios by Steve Wright, with former band member Walker Teret as co-producer.