Hush Arbors / Arbouretum: Aureola (Thrill Jockey, 4/24/12)
“New Scarab”
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Arbouretum-New_Scarab.mp3|titles=Arbouretum: “New Scarab”]Bands that traffic in psychedelic/stoner-rock orthodoxy often follow a dogmatism that rings shallow. In one fell swoop — three songs, to be precise — Baltimore quartet Arbouretum effectively lays waste to anyone who’s ever bowed at the altar of the fuzzed-out guitar to mask (or revel in) creative bankruptcy.
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and music critic Byron Cooley have created the definitive chronicle of the late ’70s New York art-rock scene. Together they skillfully depict the culture, politics, and environment that formed the still-obscure and quietly influential bands of that era.