Although Balmorhea is a band of rock musicians, on Rivers Arms they look more toward Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich and Brian Eno for their source points. Named for a town in their native Texas, Balmorhea has a couple of classical string players in the group, but the core sound comes from Rob Lowe and Michael Muller who play guitars and piano. They're all in their 20s, but they shun the dynamics and electrics of rock. Instead, they hear a sound that is quieter and contemplative, a more refined music that's dipped in pastoral reverie, but touched by quirkiness. You can hear it on gentle tracks like "Summer" with arpeggiated acoustic guitars set against a glissando violin, or on "San Salomon," where piano, banjo and cello join in a slow, bluegrass-like soliloquy, emerging out of the sound of children playing on a beach. The audio vérité they use on several tracks gives the intimacy of a home movie, not a YouTube movie mind you, but an old Super-8 film. There's a little too much of that on a few tracks but it's one element that makes Balmorhea poignant without being sentimental. It’s a difficult task, but one they accomplish by taking 1980s acoustic New Age music and giving it an avant-garde edge. -- John Diliberto