Baron: Torpor

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The idea of artwork playing a crucial role in an album as a whole seems gloriously old-fashioned these days, but having recorded parts of Torpor in one of the few remaining medieval halls in Britain, you get the feeling that’s one of the reasons Baron crammed a coldly evocative short story of past times into the booklet.

Like a perfect spice added to a sauce, it brings the music within to life, the post-rock and Krautrock-influenced melodies droning to hypnotic effect, the vocals coming across as an incantation, and the drums set as a heartbeat. The primal Stry, in particular, builds to a magical crescendo of extraordinary power. Stirring stuff.

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.