First came Jim O'Rourke's collaboration on In Bern and now it's David Grubbs turn. It's surprising it took so long for the two to get together considering Grubbs is also behind the Dexter's Cigar label which released In Pittsburgh, resulting in wider exposure for Connors (O'Rourke and Grubbs were both fans during their years in Gastr Del Sol in the nineties). The album is a lovely collaboration which finds Grubbs behind the piano, the yang to Connors's yin as he plays his guitar using distortion (and sounds quite distant throughout). There's a nice balance between the two artist's playing and even though the sounds might feel as though they are clashing at first, upon repeated listening a certain harmony shines through. Arborvitae means "tree of life" and these recordings have a primitive, chaotic and almost mythological feel to them which really match the album's subject.