Baltimore, what thoughts does it conjure? Animal Collective perhaps, there's The Wire which despite some recent over-exposure really is the best TV show ever made and I think that someone in Sleepless In Seattle was from Baltimore (it's uncertain why particular bits of information just stick in the mind). What it doesn't instantly make you think of is grunge. Song of The Pearl is Arbouretum's third record and is surprisingly only in that you wouldn't expect a band signed to uber-cool Thrill Jockey records would make music that guitar magazines really like to cover; you know the sort, technically very good but as far from life affirming as you can get. Yep, it's all a bit Pearl Jam. Opener 'False Spring' features two guitar solos and the kind of hollered throaty man vocals that you'd expect courtesy of David Heumann. The tracks that make up Song of The Pearl can basically be split into two camps, the outright rawk numbers and the more pleasing introspective less brash tracks. The latter are much more effective as the ballast is stripped away and despite the drop in tempo there seems to be very little ambition to be included on the next power ballads compilation. 'Down By The Fall Line' features folky guitar and heavily processed vocal and pleasingly recalls Doves but when the rest of the band join in, the total lack of dynamism is desperately apparent and this is a problem that plagues the rest of the album. All the instruments seem content just to carry the songs along and if there is any kind of excitement then it stays well within the boundaries of the track and can be seen from miles off. There are fairly wild strangulated guitar lines at the end of 'Fall Line'. These are kept in their place firmly and beg the question that the production is the real problem here, perhaps it isn't but it certainly doesn't help.The title track is one of better numbers, intricately picked guitars elegant strings and a less strained vocal manage to marshal the track without resorting to chest beating tactics although it does go on a bit and the lyrics don't tend to catch the ear to any great extent.On the whole this is not a tremendously objectionable listen at all and pretty inoffensive as background music but is always a tad too stodgy and tame to encourage repeated listens and continues a baffling trend of rock music that is lacking in dynamics and apparently afraid of being, well... noisy. 54%Arbouretum on Myspace