Baroness: Yellow and Green Review

Album: Yellow and Green

Artist: Baroness

Genre: Stoner/Sludge Rock

6.5/10

Yellow: 7.5

Green: 5.5

    

    The colors yellow and green are right next to each other in the spectrum, so it’s no surprise that Baroness would name their double album Yellow and Green.  The two CDs both take similar routes to the same goal.  It’s a double album.  A feat not too many bands are able to pull off.  Now add the extra challenge of a band trying to reach a new division of fans outside of the 18-25 stoner boy range and you have a hell of a lot to pull off.  Yellow and Green is an album that tried, oh it tried, to pull it off, with some disappointing results.  Clocking in at a short-for-a-double-LP 70 minutes, each CD contains almost the same amount of material, each 35 minutes with 9 songs, but the second CD is far worse than it’s predecessor, leaving behind brash vocals and epic distorted riffs and solos for half time ballads, acoustic instrumentation, and vocals that would fit comfortably in a generic alternative rock band’s setlist. 

      Yellow begins very strongly, opening with a calm guitar intro that leads into a loud crash and classic Baroness-style riffage.  John Baizley howls on ‘Take My Bones Away”, confidently proclaiming that his soul will find his body no matter what.  It’s an epic song that shows promise for the entire album, exuberating confidence.  “March to the Sea” follows with a melodic guitar line, entering a sixteenth note tom and guitar playoff that couples greatly with the echoic and unusually melodic vocals of Baizley.  The album loses steam, however, with the track “Little Things”, with a odd disco-beat, only to be picked up at the solo, with a wah-heavy line as the very high point.  The next three tracks don’t showcase anything at all.  “Twinkler” sounds just like its name.  “Cocainium” suffers from another long intro and weird drum beat.  “Back Where I Belong” continues this ballad-limbo song style for nearly 7 more minutes.  “Sea Lungs” returns to the intensity of the first tracks, and “Eula” ends the record a little stronger, proving to be the only half-time ballad on the entire double album to impress with its emotion and intensity.

      Green begins with it’s own “Green Theme” as Yellow began with “Yellow Theme”, and it’s a pretty good opener, switching from a calm ambiance similar to the previous theme with two cadences of a loud symphonic sounding burst.  “Board Up the House” couples climbing guitar lines with clear vocals.  It’s a song about hiding from something scary and unknown but the song itself doesn’t portray the same emotion quite as much as I think Baroness would like.  Then we reach another three-track lull with quite honestly forgettable songs.  The combination of acoustic guitar with almost lullaby vocals and power ballad instrumentation is not unlistenable, but it does bore.  “Psalms Alive” is a very confusing song, with the drums sounding almost electronic, and the rhythm section is quite discordant, but not in a thought-out strong contrast, but more of a muddy idea.  The instrumental “Stretchmarker” showcases some acoustic chops, but the twang is too much and it sounds out of place.  “The Line Between” is by far the best song on Green, upping the intensity once again while retaining a melody.  Green ends with another instrumental tune whose chord changes are beautiful and rich, the tone sadder but still dark. 

      I believe that the theme of Yellow and Green that Baroness was trying to get across was one more timid than the last two records.  Baroness wanted to take a step back, to inject more emotion, and to deliver something fresh and more expansive.  Sadly many of these songs suffer from muddy tones and failed implementation of ideas.  Baroness delivered some truly memorable material in their last two records, but not so much on this one, which is really too bad considering how much potential these guys had.  Baroness really shot for the moon.  I’m giving them a 6.5, with a subscore of Yellow: 7.5 and Green: 5.5.

FAVE TRACKS: Take My Bones Away, March to the Sea, Sea Lungs, Eula, The Line Between

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GdaTrP6hOE  <= March to the Sea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O4D5jNzv28  <= Eula