Music Review: Exceptet – ‘Tree Lines’

An Eclectic Debut from Exceptet

Exceptet’s debut album Tree Lines opens with an evocative prog-rock composition by the group’s violinist Sarah Goldfeather. I say prog-rock because that’s very much the flavor of “Mouth Full of Ears,” even if there isn’t a guitar or keyboard in sight. The lyrics make half-sense, like those of many a prog-rock band (Yes fans, I’m looking at you). Goldfeather’s vocals in their high register even remind me of Renaissance’s Annie Haslam.

But Exceptet is no rock outfit. The vocals are backed by an instrumentation rooted in Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat: clarinet, trumpet, trombone, bassoon, double bass, percussion, and the composer’s own violin. In “Mouth Full of Ears” this palette, and the mix of traditional modality with nonstandard rhythms, also recall the brassy contemporary folk of a band like Bellowhead.

This instrumentation has interesting sonic possibilities, many of which the quirky, appealing album explores, also through music by Paul Kerekes and Rome Prize winner Katherine Balch.

Kerekes’ “figment” is a patchwork of staccato chirps, darting bassoon figures, and chimes, revolving loosely around a three-note pentatonic motive and a rising whole-note scale. Repetition suggests minimalism but surprises abound, right through to the abrupt ending. The music feels charmingly energized. It’s fun to listen to and it sounds fun to play.

‘Tree Lines’

Balch’s title piece, “Tree Lines,” consists of 13 short movements, each named for and presumably inspired by a different type of old-growth tree, from yews and cypresses to baobabs and sequoias.

Each playfully eccentric piece has a distinct flavor, although the connections with the trees may be best left to the imagination. Sighing sounds may suggest the longevity of the bristlecone pine; snapping gestures perhaps depict a bow and arrow in “Yew.” But those are my fancies. These pieces can and probably should be appreciated as abstract music. There’s nothing majestic about the clicks and meows of “Sequoia.”

Some of the pieces include Goldfeather’s vocals, folded like any other instrument into the textures, intoning numbers and Latin species names. But meaning remains elusive.

Balch mostly eschews graspable rhythm too, which feels right for the subject matter. Even the common-time flow of “Cedar” strolls by with rubbery irregularity. It makes sense; while days and seasons and centuries come and go, these trees are, for all human intents and purposes, timeless. And as the composer writes, “I suppose the only way I can approach trying to capture the idea of something that lives so long is to write something very short – the duration of my lived experience in relation to theirs.”

The subject matter may bring to mind environmental disaster. But Balch injects humor into the music, too, as she creatively explores each instrument’s possibilities.

Tree Lines, the debut album from Exceptet, is just half an hour long, but holds much promise for this eclectic group. It’s available now from New Focus Recordings.