Alabama Shakes is not that. Brittany Howard and the boys in the band are less a genre act than they are just a fucking rock band. They span soul, country, blues, pop, a little jazz, a little punk; basically they are rock and roll, because rock and roll isn't really anything but a conglomerate of all of those things. Without really fitting into my selfish and narrow expectations, Alabama Shakes have found their way to the center of rock music - more so than the bluesy Black Keys, the punkish Gaslight Anthem, or the poppy Kings of Leon. This effortless sound, a sound that feels like it is decades old while still finding ways to surprise, all comes directly from the vocals. Brittany's voice can go from Billie Holliday whispers to Aretha Franklin belts and back again. This is what modern American rock music sounds like.
Now, I think that smells like bullshit, and usually when it smells like bullshit, it is. It was when people said it about those aforementioned bands, and it mostly is here. Alabama Shakes aren't going to "save" rock and roll, and they aren't any sort of underground act that's broken the mainstream with their pure musical prowess.
I do have problems with the album; the sounds around Brittany are rarely distinct enough for the listener to really grasp onto any specific licks or solos. Because they are so bleary, they coalesce too much, and her voice doesn't stand out the way that it should. When she screams, I should hear her screaming loud and above the rest of the noise. I don't want it to sound like she's backing away from the microphone, because it dulls the passion with which she's singing. This is the biggest difference between Sound & Color and an actual golden oldies record. There's something somewhere in the production that levels all of the sounds off, and when everything is equal, nothing stands out. The guitars on the album feel content, too content. They are relaxed while the vocals are exploding.
Take "Miss You" as an example. The song sounds like it could be a Rolling Stones cover (and I'm not just saying that because it's the title of an actual Rolling Stones song), but when Brittany is yelling "I'm yours, I'm yours, I'm yours" in the chorus, with all the bluster and rasp of a pure '70s rock star, it feels subdued in some small way. That's not the way that it feels when Brittany sings live, and that's not the way it should feel in my car or my headphones, or anywhere Brittany's voice can find me.
And it's great that's not how it sounds live, because there are so many great songs on the album, that surely come with a more raw sound in a different context. "The Greatest" is the most fun song on the album, even kicking off with Brittany saying "check this out," and then hopping right into a driving beat. "Gemini" burns slow through a haze of psychedelia. The lead single "Don't Wanna Fight" is a funky song that showcases Brittany's strength straight from the beginning with growls and hisses. I say that these sounds are her strengths because I guess what I hear in the band, even though they range from country to funk to blues and all around, is that she is a true rock singer, like James Brown or Mick Jagger, who hit all the right notes and make us feel like they're straining so hard to hit them.
The album hits on April 21, and is streaming right now on npr.
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