BARONESS — Yellow & Green (review)

Album · 2012 · Heavy Psych

4/5 · 2012-09-07
arcane-beautiful

Baroness are a band that I haven't really heard of, and this is my first experience with the band.

I'm not a massive fan of stoner rock/sludge and if I'm being honest, I like Mastodon, and that's about it. Now and then I like some songs by some stoner bands...depending on what mood I'm in, but I won't lie, it's not 100% my thing.

But...this album was receiving a lot of positive criticism and a lot of people where talking about and comparing it to the last Mastodon album...so I was a little intrigued. So having listened to the first single, and liking it, I thought...meh, might as well buy it. So I did..

Now overall...I did like a good bit of this album. I think the album is a little bit over hyped, and maybe the band in general, but maybe it's because it's not my thing. But because it's not my thing...and I actually rather enjoyed it...does show that the band have achieved something good...so if this is your thing you probably would love it.

The only problem with the album that probably would have made this album better for me would have been to make it more compact, get rid of some of the filler and just make one single album, instead of a 2 disc double album (even though you can easily fit all these songs on to a CD).

I do like the double album format, especially when deciding on which disc of the album I favour more. Now I think everyone will agree that the first disc is the best side of the album, and if it was just a single album, it might have been one of the albums of the year. But the second disc does really just sound like leftovers. I won't lie, there are some good moments, but it does sound like a collection of B sides...and it's why I think a single album with some songs left off would have made a better album.

Now this does sound a bit negative, but overall, even the filler isn't the worst. Grated there are about 2 songs that I find are completely useless, but the rest is still pretty great.

Musically the band have adapted a style which is better suited for songwriting, and has been toned down a bit from there previous material, making the album a lot more compact and listenable. The vocals I'm not the biggest fan of, but they are ok. I do love the use of vocal harmonies throughout the album.

YELLOW

1. Yellow Theme – A great intro to the album. Perks the atmosphere right up. 8/10

2. Take My Bones Away – The perfect single for the album. A very catchy song. At times it very reminds me of Thrice at times. 10/10

3. March To The Sea – A song about drug. Woopee. An interesting song with a pretty cool chorus. Great lyrics too. 9/10

4. Little Things – When I first heard this song, I was thinking to myself, “ha, this sounds like Jimmy Eat World”...which isn't a bad thing because I do like Jimmy Eat World a good bit. But there is a twist...due to the sludginess of the song and the jam like style of the end, making it pretty unique. 8/10

5. Twinkler – A bit of an interlude with some nice vocal arrangements. Nice accompaniment too. 8/10

6. Cocainium – One of the more moodier songs on the album. Great build up at the start and a pretty cool groove in the chorus, Overall, it's a pretty moody groovy song. 9/10

7. Back Where I Belong – This song definitely has some of the best guitar playing on the album. Nice arrangement and chorus too. 8/10

8. Sea Lungs – One of the more heavier songs on this side of the album. Some cool riffs. 8/10

9. Eula – The best song on the album in my opinion. A very powerful song and not a boring moment on it. And the guitar solo on this song is pretty impressive. 10/10

GREEN

1. Green Theme – This has to be one of the best intros I have ever heard to open up an album.

2. Board Up The House – If this where the single of this side of the album, it would have gone done well enough. I do feel that the song would have been better if it did have a better chorus. The chorus is alright, but the verses have a lot of build up and don't really go anywhere. 9/10

3. Mtns. (The Crown & Anchor) – A nice soft arrangement and some nice lyrics too. 8/10

4. Foolsong – The best song on this side of the album. I probably would have preferred this to have been on the first half of the album. A very beautiful and melancholic song that focuses very much on using minor keys. 10/10

5. Collapse – I won't lie. All I can hear in this song is a very hipster sounding arty farty attempt at songwriting with bland instrumentation and nonsensical lyrics. 5/10

6. Palms Alive – The same as Collapse really with a slightly more interesting side due to the electronic sounding drum beat and a good enough ending to the song. 6/10

7. Stretchmaker – A nice instrumental acoustic interlude. 7/10

8. The Line Between – The riff at the start of this song is really kick ass. The song does kind of morph into a more standard song, but it's still a pretty great song though. 8/10

9. If I Forget Thee, Lowcountry – A nice little ending to the album. 7/10

CONCLUSION: It's not 100% my cup of tea. But I did rather like it a lot. There are some great songs on it, and overall it's a pretty decent album. The band aren't a band I would usually go for, but I might give there other stuff a listen, because this was rather good.

7.6/10