Arbor Labor Union

Arbor Labor Union emerged from Georgia as a rock outfit whose sound fuses post-punk, psychedelia, and stoner rock with a hint of punk energy. The musicians first operated under the Pinecones moniker and leveraged several self-released D.I.Y. efforts to secure a deal with Sub Pop; after adopting their current name they delivered the 2016 album I Hear You. Their follow-up, the vibrant New Petal Instants LP, appeared in 2020.

Founding members Bo Orr on guitar and vocals, Ryan Evers on bass, and Ben Salie on drums had performed together since high school. Orr and Salie initially formed the eclectic minimalist punk group Mosaic, which later added guitarist Brian Adams. After Orr departed Mosaic to spend time in New England and joined the grindcore outfit Dead in the Dirt, he maintained contact with his earlier collaborators through online file exchanges for new material. In 2012 Adams proposed launching a fresh rock project shaped by the writings of Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau; Orr, Evers, and Salie joined, and the ensemble began performing as Pinecones. Within two years the band amassed sufficient songs to record, laying down basic tracks for the debut LP Sings for You Now on April 1, 2014. Overdubs wrapped the following week, and the album surfaced in early 2015. Although Sings for You Now drew strong critical notice, the group soon rebranded as Arbor Labor Union. Momentum continued unabated, leading to a November 2015 recording contract with the respected indie label Sub Pop Records. Their first release for the imprint, I Hear You, arrived in May 2016 and marked the initial album under the Arbor Labor Union name. After additional home-recorded D.I.Y. projects, the band resurfaced in 2020 on the Arrowhawk label with their second proper full-length under the ALU banner, the wily New Petal Instants. By then original drummer Salie had been succeeded by Bryan Scherer.