It seems as though Baroness’ new album, Purple, is gaining mass critical acclaim, as well as fan praise that was ultimately used to help stream the bands latest work.
According to the press release, the album has been “universally praised”, and Rolling Stone Australia has called it “the most dynamic, robust guitar album of theyear.” WOW! With all the recognition and praise that is following Purple, this album already is and is sure to be, one of the albums to compete with for greatness in 2016.
As stated in the press release, the ten-song album was recorded with producer Dave Fridmann (The Falming Lips, MGMT). Baizley said of the producer in the press release ” “He’s been on the top of my list since day one. I never thought he’d work with us. I absolutely worship his recordings.”
John Baizley also had this to say in regards to the albums conception and execution:
“After releasing a lengthy and investigative record like Yellow & Green we all felt that we needed to make something much more direct and immediate,” explains band founder and singer/guitar player John Baizley of the approach behind Purple. “We wanted to write with our normal focus on artistry, balanced against an increased level of energy and focus. It was important for us to write our new songs with the type of enthusiasm and expressiveness that could act as a counterpoint to the album’s dark themes. As a result, the music came out in an intense, heavy and sonically captivating in a new way, which was important, loathe, as we are to fall into any kind of complacency pitfall or formulaic songwriting routine. Purple is the most fully realized representation of our intention as a band; considering the amount of physical and mental energy spent writing it, we have accomplished something which would have seemed impossible to us a couple of years ago.” (via press release)
The ten-song album is streaming thanks to a multitude of partners including: Stereogum, Rolling Stone Australia, Kerrang, YourBaroness.com, Nerdist, Noisey, Drowned in Sound, Metal Injection, Juxtapoz, and Brave Words. Each song belongs to a different partner, which is a really cool concept. Here is a list of which partner had which track:
“Morningstar” via Kerrang
“Shock Me” via YourBaroness.com
“Try To Disappear” via Stereogum
“Kerosene” via Nerdist
“Fugue” via Juxtapoz
“Chlorine & Wine” via Brave Words
“The Iron Bell” via Noisey
“Desperation Burns” via Metal Injection
“If I Have To Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain)” via Drowned In Sound
“Crossroads of Infinity” via Rolling Stone Australia
The cover art for the bands album is beautifully done by the Dutch artist, Marald Van Haasteren.
Check out the songs below: