Baroness have been one of my most played artists in recent years. I discovered them in early 2016 and fell hard for their back catalogue, in particular their outstanding debut, 2007’s Red. But their last record was Purple in 2015. So – while they’ve been a mainstay for me for a while – this new album (their fifth) is the first one that’s been eligible for this list. Gold & Grey is ambitious as hell: a sprawling genre-hopping ‘double record’ (what does that mean in the digital age – basically, it’s just long). It’s also their best work since Red. Ostensibly a progressive/post-metal band, Baroness have never conformed to a particular genre, and across the 17 tracks on offer here they veer from traditional riffing/noodling, weird electro dreamscapes, industrial stomping, doomy choir orchestral and more. Gold & Grey is not for dipping in to. No hits here: ‘Throw Me an Anchor’ is definitely the way in, but, for all its chunky charms, is prosaic compared to the sheer musical recklessness of much of this monster. The ambition and size of this record admittedly comes at the price of variations in quality, but overall it wins out: artful, varied and complex. Gold & Grey requires, and from me got, many, many listens.