The new video from Arbor Labor Union encapsulates an evolving sound as the psych-punk band prepares to release their next LP, New Petal Instants, in early 2020. Their increasingly pastoral jams flow from singer and songwriter Bo Orr’s esoteric dreams and wandering haiku, but “Flowerhead” isn’t a hazy jam in the vein of 2017’s ALU’s BLUES. Instead, the bubbly riffs condense all the blooming springtime plants into a single ecstatic time-lapse cut of positive energy.
ALU invoke Workingman’s Dead with joyous abandon while throwing some of their own signature spices into the mix. Most of the caustic post-punk elements have been smoothed over with a layer of prickly pear Americana, but throughout the track, occasional glimpses of the art-kid origins of the group poke through the soil.
Many of the band’s songs are about growth, particularly personal spiritual journeys mirrored in the natural world, and this track is no exception. “Flowerhead” takes its energy from the earth and gives it back with open arms, in a restorative act of rock and roll. The call of Arbor Labor Union can be jarring for those of us baking in the artificial light of screens with thumbs tied in an endless scroll. But the exhortation to stand up, breathe in a panoply of bird calls, and traipse into the sunny unknown will forever be an enticing invitation for those willing to listen.
New Petal Instants is out Feb. 7, 2020 via Arrowhawk Records. Pre-orders are available here.
Arbor Labor Union will perform on Fri., Nov. 29 at 529 alongside Night Cleaner, Sunset Pig, Krystal V, and Purejoy. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $5. 21+ to enter.
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Bandcamp: arborlaborunion.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @arborlaborunion
Instagram: @arborlaborunion
Twitter: @ArborLaborUnion