Baroness - Purple

I'm always a little hesitant to review records that have received massive critical acclaim, but alas and alack - here I am again. Baroness have truly done something special with Purple, I'm not totally sure it's all it was cracked up to be, but then again I was never a huge Baroness fan. What I can say though is that when Purple glows, it shines. The songwriting here is majestic and powerful. Baroness were fully aware of what they needed to do to reinstate themselves on the scene and they have managed to do exactly that.

Now more than ever John Baizley's powerful vocals ring out, resonate even, soaring out of your speakers and communicating a sort of sublime beauty to the band. Beyond that - the production on this record is perfection, it's rare that a record simply sounds good enough to really interest me, but that's a key selling point of Purple. The angular riffs and brooding bass lines fit together perfectly in the mix and the new band members mesh in very nicely with the old guard. As a whole though Purple is impressive because in a rather concise and straightforward format it is able to carry the listener to brave new worlds and allows you to revel in each and every standout track.

Lyrical and majestic, Purple is a brilliantly put together record and one that I think a lot of people will be coming back to time and time again. Even for someone who never really got into the band, like me, there's still something incredibly powerful about this record. Rather than coming across as fatalistic or doomed, there is something incredibly hopeful about what Baroness have done on Purple and I now know that there is a way forward through the murk, and bands like this one are what is going to carry us forward.

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