As the highly-anticipated new album “Stone” by Baroness (set for release on September 15 via Abraxan Hymns) draws near, the band is gearing up to mark the arrival of the 10-track collection with a series of acoustic performances at record stores. The journey will kick off with a special outing on the release day at New York City’s Rough Trade.
“Independent music stores are a huge part of our musical background,” John Baizley shares. “We discovered so much music in them as teenagers; they undoubtedly had a profound effect on all of our development as young artists (they still do). We are thrilled to be able to travel around the East Coast this September to play stripped down sets in some of our favorite shops.”
Gina Gleason adds: “We’re really excited for the opportunity to play these intimate performances and to connect with the fans as well as the record shop owners and operators who have been so incredibly supportive of us over the years.”
The announcement of these in-store performances coincides with the release of a music video for the song “Shine,” directed by the band themselves. Gleason remarks on the video’s cinematic quality, noting that it “feels like our most cinematic endeavor thus far!” “Shine” serves as the third pre-release single from the Philadelphia-meets-Brooklyn foursome, following the prior releases of “Last Word” and “Beneath The Rose.”
Baroness Record Store Tour:
- September 15 New York, NY Rough Trade
- September 16 Poughkeepsie, NY Darkside Records
- September 17 Baltimore, MD The Sound Garden
- September 18 Richmond, VA Plan 9 Music
- September 19 Raleigh, NC Schoolkids Records
- September 20 Charleston, SC Monster Music
- September 21 Atlanta, GA Criminal Records
See store for admission details.
Baizley previously commented about the album: “An important through line in Baroness is we don’t like to repeat ourselves. It’s all about the willingness to take risks. When I was younger, the whole point of music was to be different, not to do the same thing, and not to listen to parents or play by the rules. That’s kind of goofy, but in practice, it works. It’s really sort of terrifying to be at the sixth record in your career and think that you’ll have to keep up with your history rather than continually invent. So, we doubled down on continuously inventing to see where it takes us. I think this record is a good reflection of that. ‘Stone’ is a lot more alive, more direct.”
Baroness have also expanded the slate of openers joining them for the “Sweet Oblivion Tour,” with Hoaxed, Destiny Bond, Spotlights and Zorn added to the already eye-popping group of support artists. Curated by the band themselves, the seven-week trek has become heavy music’s most diverse and interesting tours of 2023, with previously announced bands including Jesus Piece, Portrayal of Guilt, Primitive Man, KEN Mode, Wayfarer, Chat Pile, Vile Creature, Soul Glo, Sheer Mag, Escuela Grind, Midwife, Imperial Triumphant, Uniform, Agriculture and Cloud Rad. Tickets are on-sale now AT THIS LOCATION.
That voluntary evolution brought the now Philadelphia-meets-Brooklyn based band to the border town of Barryville, New York. Electing to produce “Stone”themselves, the members of Baroness spent a month shrouded amidst the pines, holed up in a vacation rental that became an impromptu recording space replete with big, vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, and brick/glass walls. While they wrote “Stone”, Baizley recorded and pre-mixed it in real time, giving each song on “Stone” its own sonic treatment. After the group finished tracking drums, guitars, and bass, they took everything back to Baizley‘s basement studio to record vocals before handing the album off to mix master Joe Barresi(Kyuss, Tool) and mastering guru Bob Ludwig (Led Zeppelin, Nirvana).
“The recording process was completely self-contained,” adds drummer Sebastian Thomsen. “Having just the four of us in a rented house in the mountains for a month resulted in not only a cohesive and authentic sound, but also an intense collective mentality.”
“I think we were able to strip everything away on this record,” guitarist Gina Gleason shares. “We were unified in that. So, we just jumped in and did our best. That felt really good. It was a really cool, empowering, creative experience.”
“Stone” pre-orders and pre-saves are available now. The album features original cover art by John Baizley and is available on a variety of formats, including an indie exclusive LP and ten limited-edition custom vinyl variants themed after each song on the album and designed by Baizley himself, as well as CD, a limited-edition deluxe CD featuring a bonus disc of live tracks recorded on the “Your Baroness” tour, and a limited blue cassette.
“Stone” track listing:
1. Embers
2. Last Word
3. Beneath The Rose
4. Choir
5. The Dirge
6. Anodyne
7. Shine
8. Magnolia
9. Under The Wheel
10. Bloom
