Sri Aurobindo are what’s often referred to as a ‘guitar band,’ the kind of act whose records are dominated by swirling overdubs of noodling leads and effects pedal textures. But that kind of characterization would diminish how key bass guitar is to the Baltimore quartet, who have one of the best bass sounds going: fuzzed out and high in the mix, but round and appealing, like a foghorn cutting through the otherwise trebly mix. On Cave Painting, their first release for Friends Records, Sri Aurobindo’s bass is in your face more than ever, hooking you even when the lyrics are impossible to make out and the psychedelic songs’ shaggy structures are hard to follow. In fact, that massive low end may be what ultimately sets  the band apart from the pack of similar psych rock acts currently crowing the indie scene.

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