Austin Sound

Balmorhea’s exceptional self-titled 2007 debut was perhaps most appropriately described by the group itself, the back of the case quoting the final line of Seamus Heaney’s poem “The Rescue”: “like water in a dream of thaw.” That poetic sense was infused into the sparse compositions of piano and classical guitar, and it equally underlies the poignancy of their sophomore release Rivers Arms.

The instrumental project of Rob Lowe and Michael Muller, Balmorhea fills out the sound on their second album with the additions of Aisha Burns’ violin, Erin Lance’s cello, and Jacob Glenn-Levin on bass guitar. Much of the beauty of Rivers Arms, like the group’s debut before it, lies in the simple and elegant constructions of the songs that never feel the need for dramatic crescendo or stop and starts that characterize so many instrumental outfits. There is a classical aplomb to the songs, melodies washing in a direct, if intricately intertwining, dance, almost ambient in its minimalism. That’s not to suggest that Rivers Arms is without plot or substance, but rather, like the poetic lines from which the duo seem to draw so much inspiration, deliver impressionistic visions with an openness that allows the listener invest the emotion and meaning, in much the same vein as John Cage or Phillip Glass.