Couple good ones, up this week at Dusted

Both Mirah’s (a)spera and Arbouretum’s Song of the Pearl have a pretty good shot at my mid-year top ten…along with, let’s see, Lotus Plaza’s Floodlight Collective, Ty Segall’s ST (if you count stuff from 2008), Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillon, Zero Boys Vicious Circle (if you count stuff from 1981), Vetiver’s new one (sorry Clif, I really it) and, possibly, not sure yet two listens in, Akron Family.

And coincidentally, I reviewed both Mirah (“Mirah picks her soft, knowing way through songs that soothe even as they challenge. Her melodies curl gently up into question marks, as she asks you to make sense of life and love and loss.”) and Arbouretum (“With Song of the Pearl, Arbouretum’s third album, Heumann’s band slips slightly, but distinctly, into the rock side of the equation. It has a denser, more cohesive sound, more defined rhythms and richer arrangements -- and yet lacks some of the subterranean pull of its predecessor.”) this week at Dusted.

I can’t find anything new for either artist, but here’s Arbouretum’s “Mohammed’s Hex and Bounty” from the second album.


And here’s Mirah just down the road at the Iron Horse, playing “Telephone Wires”