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ARBOURETUM

Whelanslive.com presents

ARBOURETUM

[THRILL JOCKEY]

REALISTIC TRAIN

“Arbouretum have forged a new alloy of psychedelic heavy rock that captures the narrative power and sonic fury of electric Neil Young, the floral qualities of 1960s British psychedelia and the textural use of distortion at the foundation of drone and stoner rock… Arbouretum arises out of the psychedelic swamp blazing with an almost shamanic power” New York Press

“a sonic explorer like Wilco or Crazy Horse – a cult classic“ – Uncut (review of Song Of The Pearl)

“It’s stoner-folk-rock, like a heavier version of Midlake or an opiated Fairport”The Independent.co.uk

Like their compadres in gnarled latter-day psych such as Earth, Espers and Six Organs of Admittance, Arbouretum have always drawn heavily from 1960s and 70s rock. From their deeply absorbed influences they create elegant and often surprising songs that do far more than simply mine a retro shtick – a rare craft.” – The Quietus

the best doom-folk record of all time“ – XLR8R(review of  Song Of The Pearl)

“The Gathering is devoid of gimmickry or subgenre convention, a diorite slab of lordly riffing inscribed with folkloric spirituality. Whatever they’ve tapped into here, whether it’s born of visionary experiences or just plain elbow grease, let’s pray they don’t lose track of it.” – Tinymixtapes (review of The Gathering)

Despite drawing heavily from the melodies and textures of English folk and from the sonic explorations of Crazy Horse, Arbouretumhave an elemental force & an invention behind them that elevates them way above mere retro-revivalists to create a dark and beautiful desert folk rock that takes  the listener on a spiritual & ecstatic journey.

Dave Heumann, a musician with something of a rustic, poetic bent who backed up musicians like Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Cass McCombs, started Arbouretumin the early 2000s. The band was comprised of Heumann’s friend Walker David Teret on guitar, ex-Lungfish member Mitchell Feldstein on drums, and Corey Allender on bass. Arbouretum’s debut, Long Live the Well-Doer, was released in 2004, and their second album, Rites of Uncovering, came out three years later. The latter was recorded in part by Paul Oldham and, according to Heumann, influenced by the works of writer Paul Bowles.

Solidifying themselves with Corey Allender on bass, Daniel Franz on drums, and Steve Strohmeier on guitar, Heumann reentered the studio with Rob Girardi again in 2008 and finished Song of the Pearl in only two months. Thrill Jockey released the record in February of 2009. The band toured the United States in support and immediately reentered the studio with producer Matt Boynton, who had recorded much of 2007′s Rites of Uncovering. Arbouretum underwent a lineup change in 2010: Guitarist Steve Strohmeier was replaced by keyboardist Matthew Pierce. Following the inspiration of archetypal psychologist Carl Jung’s The Red Book (at least the images that led to his writing it), Arbouretum released the expansive, mythology-drenched effort The Gathering in 2011 on Thrill Jockey.Their latest record ‘Coming Out Of The Fog’ will be released on Thrill Jockey in January 2013. I’ve already heard it and it’s quite brilliant.

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REALISTIC TRAIN

Self-styled in their own lyrics as “rolling down the tracks inside your mind” Realistic Train are a brilliant, strange band riveted in the tradition of loud sound and lolling heads. Their members have crazy-good pedigree”…[Owensie plays gentle acoustic songs under his own name and was part of the tremendous Terrordactyl and Puget Sound, Tob Swift plays guitar in Wizards of Firetop Mountain and is the bassist in Mongolia and Dunch fronts Wizards of Firetop Mountain and drums for Mongolia]…There are no certificates for this kind of thing but if there were, they’d probably come graphed on drum-skins, signed with hallucinogenic ink and hot-wax-stamped with the tusk of a narwhal. Just imagine.

TICKETS:

€13.50 available online from WAV Tickets [Lo-Call 1890 200 078] (50c per ticket service charge applies on phone or creditcard bookings from WaV).

AFTER THE GIG:

Whelan’s Indie Club w/ Late Bar from 10:30pm or check out the bands playing The Midnight Hour in the upstairs venue (FREE ENTRY, 12am).