Song of the Pearl

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.