Arbouretum have been around for ages now, and 'The Gathering' marks a new line-up and a shift in sound for the Baltimore quartet. The band's fourth album, the album still finds Dave Heumann at the reigns but takes its influence from The Red Book by Carl Jung. Listening to the record you'd probably pushed to hear this - the band do an admirable job of trudging through the outer reaches of guitar-led sludge, kept in tow (only just) by their skill and professionalism. I had a feeling at some points that the record would end up on a path into musical nihilism or possibly even worse, the drug-jam (hello Bardo Pond) but thankfully Arbouretum keep their baser tendencies in check and the record feels measured even at its most spiritual. The sound is the first thing that sets 'The Gathering' apart from its predecessors, and while adding a keyboardist to a rock band is usually the kiss of death for bands, the inclusion of Matthew Pierce's synthesizers is a welcome addition to the sludgy riffage and propels the bands songs to the next level. Those of you enamoured by Om and Wooden Shjips should check this immediately...
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Arbouretum have been around for ages now, and 'The Gathering' marks a new line-up and a shift in sound for the Baltimore quartet. The band's fourth album, the album still finds Dave Heumann at the reigns but takes its influence from The Red Book by Carl Jung. Listening to the record you'd probably pushed to hear this - the band do an admirable job of trudging through the outer reaches of guitar-led sludge, kept in tow (only just) by their skill and professionalism. I had a feeling at some points that the record would end up on a path into musical nihilism or possibly even worse, the drug-jam (hello Bardo Pond) but thankfully Arbouretum keep their baser tendencies in check and the record feels measured even at its most spiritual. The sound is the first thing that sets 'The Gathering' apart from its predecessors, and while adding a keyboardist to a rock band is usually the kiss of death for bands, the inclusion of Matthew Pierce's synthesizers is a welcome addition to the sludgy riffage and propels the bands songs to the next level. Those of you enamoured by Om and Wooden Shjips should check this immediately...
Arbouretum have been around for ages now, and 'The Gathering' marks a new line-up and a shift in sound for the Baltimore quartet. The band's fourth album, the album still finds Dave Heumann at the reigns but takes its influence from The Red Book by Carl Jung. Listening to the record you'd probably pushed to hear this - the band do an admirable job of trudging through the outer reaches of guitar-led sludge, kept in tow (only just) by their skill and professionalism. I had a feeling at some points that the record would end up on a path into musical nihilism or possibly even worse, the drug-jam (hello Bardo Pond) but thankfully Arbouretum keep their baser tendencies in check and the record feels measured even at its most spiritual. The sound is the first thing that sets 'The Gathering' apart from its predecessors, and while adding a keyboardist to a rock band is usually the kiss of death for bands, the inclusion of Matthew Pierce's synthesizers is a welcome addition to the sludgy riffage and propels the bands songs to the next level. Those of you enamoured by Om and Wooden Shjips should check this immediately...