Alabama Shakes

Albums:
‘Boys & Girls‘ (2012)
‘Sound & Color‘ (2015)

I will eternally be a sucker for a female vocalist whose music works for her benefit and not the other way around. Instead of being drowned by auto-tune or an instrument arrangement that tries to top her sound, Brittany Howard’s voice is allowed to soar and roam free as she establishes herself as one of the most dynamic soulful vocalists in contemporary music.

The sound is a lot of soul with some jazz and rock elements scattered in to keep things from getting to comfortable. The first album is, by far, the more accomplished effort because the sound was more organic. They weren’t trying to shoehorn in a catchy riff or hook to get listeners; they just let Howard sing and tried to keep up. By the time ‘Sound & Color’ came to be, some poor production choices were made and Howard’s voice and lyrical style seemed to be pushed to the bad for a more avant-garde jazz sound that is more progressive but also manages to forget its greatest asset. I’m hoping the next album rights the ship.

Track of Distinction: “I Ain’t the Same,” with its blues-rock grittiness and smooth soulfulness edges out “You Ain’t Alone” and “Hold On” and hearkens back to a bygone day of powerful black vocalists.