Arbouretum There was a moment in the early '70s when the idyllic pagan tropes of Brit-folk turned dark and heavy, and the Black Sabbaths of the world supplanted the Fairport Conventions. This Baltimore quartet led by singer Dave Heumann would have been the perfect bridge between the two, marrying the former's sinister gothic riffs with the latter's more psychedelic dynamics. Heumann gives it all a North American twist, epic guitar leads made of Crazy Horse feedback and Sonic Youth noise. Arbouretum is mostly about texture, though, and works best when the laid-back verses subside into classic stoner rock solos that bridge eras-often by demolishing them. With ex-Sub Poppers Love as Laughter and Ultimate Optimist. Milestone

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