Having its origins dating back to 2020, Stone was written during the pandemic, but isn’t a pandemic record. While being housebound and nothing to do but bounce ideas between one another, Stone was born.
Fast forward 4 years and we get the first taste of new Baroness since 2019’s Gold & Grey through Last Word, which is also the albums main opening track, after Embers’ acoustic lullaby with Gina Gleason & John Baizley both singing to bring you into a false since of security. As it fades out, you’re hit with the powerful percussion from drummer Sebastian Thomson before the band explode into Last Word with Gleason & Baizley tearing you in half with a riff that savages through the song. Baroness love to keep you on your toes however, so it’s not exactly an odd moment when the hulking riffs disappear for a moment between the harmonic chorus and verses.
Baroness have always been a band that tries their best not to repeat themselves both on an album and between releases, and on Stone, they’ve achieved exactly that. Last Word is a groove laden act while Choir speaks more from their prog upbringing. Baizley’s vocals are ever changing through the album. Beneath the Rose, while being a sludgy & proggy masterpiece, has his vocals stripped down to more of a spoken word with a tinge on melody that teeters on the edge of singing. Behind the chugging guitars and frantic drumming, he then shifts to his signature singing style and soars before coming back down – and that’s not the only surprise they have in store.
Each song has its own treatment and style which was brought upon by isolation and helped the band explore more experimental territory. While recording the album, the band built more of a DIY approach to the album, by actually building a recording studio in the house they were staying in together to originally share their ideas and get a base formula ready. But Baroness being Baroness, they recorded and pre-mixed the instruments while at the rental, before moving the recording of the vocals elsewhere, giving the album a more back to basics feel.
“More focused on genre swapping than sticking to one sound, it makes for a more compelling and captivating listen.”
Within the album there are a few moments where it feels like a different band because of the recording approach. It’s not a bad thing, because if anything they throw you off when you think you know what you’re expecting. A great example is The Dirge, an acoustic lullaby passage placed before Anodyne, which is the exact mirror of the song that precedes it. A soft guitar melody interrupted by a crunchy riff is a beautiful transition that’s only matched by the emotionally gripping epic that is Magnolia.
While Baroness have just released album number 6, it’s the only one not to be named after a colour, marking a huge departure, while the contents of the album are as emotionally hefty as their previous work. More focused on genre swapping than sticking to one sound, it makes for a more compelling and captivating listen. It may take a few listens for Stone to show its entire hand, but when it does, you can be sure Baroness haven’t lost their touch, they’ve just expanded their horizons.