Song of the Pearl | Arbouretum

My review of Arbouretum’s Song of the Pearl ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

Dave Heumann is a talented musician, and I really enjoyed this record, but it’s clearly inhabiting the sound of early Neil Young, much as the previous Arbouretum record sounded a lot like Will Oldham. While it lacks a voice of its own, Song of the Pearl is still an entertaining, well-made bit of work, and I don’t think Arbouretum is far off from the mark. The title track is a good start, a spark of individualism in an otherwise familiar set of tracks.