Few bands deserve a victory lap more than Baroness in 2013. In 2012, they gave us the excellent double-record Yellow & Green, but they also survived a horrific bus crash while on tour (which would eventually cause two players to leave the band). Live at Maida Vale was recorded just a month before that accident and captures the band playing full-tilt four gems from Yellow & Green.
Not only do these impressive performances remind us of the resilience of the great Savannah band — check the unadulterated fury of “Take My Bones Away” — but it also re-confirms the impressive breadth of sounds on their finest album to date. The thunder-stomp of “March to the Sea” leads to the spacious moods of “Cocainium” before the set closes with the propulsive “The Line Between”. This brief set crackles with energy and the songs in it are delivered with tight power. Set aside bus rubble and (thankfully) near-death experiences. This is the way we should remember this time in Baroness’s history. Slaying on stage with their best material.