Heumann has rallied a crew of mostly Baltimoreans to back him up. A plurality — Walker Teret, Mike Kuhl and co-writer Rob Wilson — are his bandmates in bluesy, old-timey Television Hill (though Teret is better known for his work in Lower Dens). Jen Wasner from Wye Oak sings backing vocals on the reconfigured traditional tune, “Greenwood Side” while sometime D. Charles Speer pianist Hans Chew sits in on keys. The sound is as rock band dense as Arbouretum, in no way the typical guy-on-stool-with-acoustic solo outing. 

It does sound, however, as if, writing on his own, rather than in a band setting, Heumann has had more time to work on the lyrics. “Switchback,” the opener, sprays a tongue-twisting spate of wordplay over the buzzing roar, as it contemplates all sorts of blockage, from slow drivers in the fast lane to artists trying to make a statement. The lines are intricately interwoven with internal rhymes and rhythms, playful to a degree that Heumann’s musings have rarely attempted. Read the words, “The talkback mic is howling after the second song/the slapback turned to clap trap, making the singing wrong,” and you’ll fall into the cadence of the verse automatically; the words and melody are tightly conjoined.     

“Here in the Deep” is more somber, paced slow and shot through with a mournful organ drone. It lulls with sleepy solace, “Go to sleep, cloud cover creeps, here in the deep,” but rouses itself with a beautifully sinuous guitar solo, every bent note fat with tone.   

The song that sounds most Arbouretum-like, oddly enough, is the cover, a re-arrangement of an old song called “Greenwood Side” that balances a lilting Celtic tune with the sawtoothed friction of distorted electric guitar. The melody, the harmonies, the vocal interplay between Heumann and Wasner all sound faintly archaic, but the instrumentals ground the song in in churning 1970s guitar rock. It’s a neat trick, even if it’s been done before, and easily the disc’s most memorable tune.   

Still for all that, Heumann has yet to top Arbouretum’s debut for heft and mystical aura or his Human Bell outing with Nathan Bell for utterly beautiful guitar sound. Here in the Deep, like the last few Arbouretum albums, is good but not mind-blowing. It wouldn’t be disappointing if we hadn’t expected more. 

Directed by Jay Buim.

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