Like a plate of peach cobbler on a warm summer night, Yonder brings the best that Georgia has to offer right into your headphones. Equal parts stoner, Americana, indie, and progressive, this record defies categorization, all while retaining its appeal for fans of a wide swath of genres. Looping jangly guitar defines the melodic lines of the record, avoiding indie flashiness to instead place the listener in a meditative trance. At times, Arbor Labor Union emulates previous progressive punk bands such as Cardiacs, utilizing incredibly tight instrumental stops and starts to create fantastically strange grooves.
Challenging the notion that all deep southern Americana has to include a banjo, Arbor Labor Union nails this musical expression of their home state using only indie rock instrumentation. Cascading melodic loops emulate the gently undulating farmland of South Georgia. Delightfully playful brief solo sections emulate the front porch musical tradition of Appalachian Georgia. More so in feeling than in specific sounds, Yonder places the listener in the room with Arbor Labor Union as they celebrate the region they love. As a result, the band blasts open the door to future artists seeking to emulate their home cultures in inventive and unexpected ways.
By utilizing such a progressive brush to paint the scenery of their local land, Arbor Labor Union also participates in the creation of the future of Georgia. As the state, alongside the rest of America, wrestles with the impacts of technology, in-migration, gentrification, and rural decay upon local culture, voices such as that of Arbor Labor Union will help provide a new direction. Yes, deeply seeded cultural traditions such as bluegrass and blues ought to continue their vital role in telling Georgia’s complex and fascinating story. However, with the state changing at an unprecedented rate and with the emergence of Atlanta as a world-class metropolis, new sounds will inevitably find their way into the state’s musical tradition. With this impending change in mind, Yonder provides a compelling path forward for the peach state, showing the way that art can quell cultural upheaval by providing a soundtrack to a place that accommodates all of the people who live there.