PREMIERE | Acid Tongue, 'Arboretum'
Acid Tongue's central duo of Guy Keltner and Ian Cunningham; photographed by Handrez García Gonzales.
From the pressure cooker of calamity, quarantines, age of unrelenting quarrels and upheavals of everything we have ever known — the world has been champing at the bit for something visceral and real that we can feel and experience with the whole of our frayed and weary beings. Answering our cries to the empty and vacuous skies descends Seattle's pop archangels Acid Tongue with a first listen to the hotly awaited album Arboretum. The principle duo of Guy Keltner, Ian Cunningham and an army of ultra-talented friends — Arboretum feels like a walk through Seattle's University of Washington Botanic Gardens of which inspired the record's title and falling into the glorious slipstream of glam rock revivalist daydream. An ode to the metal gurus, the New York grooves, electric warriors, diamond dogs, jooks, droogs, English disco derelicts, artful dodgers, space oddities and anyone who has ever sought a new lease on this sordid thing called life.
Arboretum kicks off with the aptly titled rocking endearment of "Home" that features Brazil's own Libra contributing lead guitar to a lavish track that feels like a reflective novella packed into the economy of a warm and wonderful pop track. The 70s glam pop party is then parlayed into the arena rocking anthem of "Ordinary People" that is heavy on the fist clenched pumping attitude that trades in some sax inflected tones and big bright electric organ arranged opulence that elevates the virtues of boredom to what feels like the best time ever. "Take Me To Your Leader" features Death Valley Girls prominently that reimagines 2022 as a long lost sci-fi moonage fever dream from 1972 like an extra-terrestrial encounter gone gleefully awry. The chronological clock is turned toward mid-70s affectations with an assist from Shaina Shepherd and Smokey Brights on the flashy body-moving grooves of "Facts of Life". The soiree keeps on keeping on in fine, sophisticated form as Calvin Love joins the party with the cool dilettante and debonair disco savoir faire of "All Out of Time" that shines like a glimmering gem from another world and time of its very own.
Shepherd and Brights contribute further to the sassy throwback Bell Records 45-frenzy frequencies of "Rock & Roll Revelations", along with the cathartic and personal reckonings of renewal and negotiating the balances of life's pleasures and incessant plain on "Suffering For You". Acid Tongue continue their sincere sentiments of steadfast resolve with the dusty road galloping ballad of "Won't Walk Back" that features Naked Giants, before closing with the whirlwind testament to life learned and time tested harsh truths of "The World's Gonna Fuck You" that pulls no punches and strikes at the nihilistic heart of the vicious vortex that is our shared world. Acid Tongue concludes Arboretum on a note that jams playfully whilst flirting with the drain circling gravity pull of entropy that combines a cataclysm of caution and utter hedonistic abandon.
Merry pranksters — the electric kool aid Acid Tongue gang; photographed by Handrez García Gonzales.
Guy Keltner from Acid Tongue reflected on some of the inspirations and praxis behind the new record:
I became incredibly depressed and started spending a lot of time at the Arboretum in Seattle. I had just moved home and was spending all day absorbing this diversity of plants and sounds at the park. I poured myself into writing some deeply personal songs, heavily influenced by the artists in my immediate orbit.
Guided by the light — Acid Tongue; photographed by photographed by Handrez García Gonzales.
Kicking booze helped me focus in the studio, but I needed help finishing this album. I was incredibly fortunate to work with musicians that I actually listened to and enjoyed. They individually elevated each song to be something beautiful and unique.
Acid Tongue’s Arboretum arrives December 3 via Freakout Records.
Catch them live on the following dates:
December 31 - Seattle, WA - Substation with Christian Bland & The Revelators
January 7 - Brooklyn, NY - TV Eye
May 12 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon with The Detroit Cobras
September 9-11 - Giverny, FR - Rock in the Barn Festival