Album Review: Baroness - Yellow And Green

Baroness are the absolute darlings of the music press and, for once, the hype is justified. Their sound is simultaneously heavy, catchy, reflective and even otherworldly, but more important is their complete lack of rock star affectation and their unbridled creativity. It's this creativity that characterises Yellow And Green, a sprawling and ambitious double album not often attempted in the digital age.

The short analysis of the LP is simple – this is Baroness' finest album to date, a masterpiece that takes the sound of previous album, Blue Record, and continues down the road for another couple of hundred kilometres. The longer discussion is a more difficult one, what with the album's intricacies and myriad of sonic quirks.

The 'Yellow' half of the equation is more aggressive than the reflective 'Green'. 'Yellow' boasts the impossibly catchy Take My Bones Away and March To The Sea, as well as the monstrous riffs of Cocainium. Its quieter moments, such as the strung-out acoustic tones of Twinkler, are just as effective and provide perfect counterpoints to the gorgeous riffing of their heavier colleagues. 'Green' isn't all tofu and poetry however, although sparse, soothing tunes like Mtns. (The Crown And Anchor) and Foolsong are worth the price of entry alone. Green Theme is an ethereal instrumental that builds slowly and then delivers a fuzzed-out pay-off while Board Up The House, with its sombre tone and mid tempo groove, has hit single written all over it. Much, much more will be said about this record in the coming months, but none of them will do it any justice. Yellow And Green is simply superb.