Savannah’s Baroness has always been tough to pin down, taking an irreverent approach to the idea of “metal†that makes room for classic-rock guitar heroics, post-punk atmospherics and a lot of psychedelic weirdness in between. But with the double LP Yellow & Green, the band has taken a bold step away from metal entirely. And, perhaps for the first time, it seems a little out of its element.
There are some magnificent moments to be found, from the instrumental intro that runs into “Take My Bones Away†to the haunting “Eula†to the early songs on Green that marry the folksy interludes and angular riff-fests that occupied separate spaces on earlier Baroness albums.
But then there is the bland pop-rock of “Little Things,†which begins a series of toothless cuts that sink the middle of Yellow. Green has the same problem. It doesn’t help that the production is so drowned in reverb that it obscures the skillful guitar work and rids John Baizley’s vocals of nuance. There’s a solid 40-minute album buried within Yellow & Green, but in its reluctance to self-edit, Baroness has left listeners to make it for themselves.
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