Alabama Shakes -‘Boys & Girls’ (Rough Trade)
I’ve never been to the Southern States of America (not a snub to anyone, just never got further than New Jersey so far), but I guess I do have an idea of what consitutes lot of southern music: rock that’s dirty in a different way to New York or LA, with blues, soul, gospel and country thrown in for good measure (I have now idea whether people from Ala
bama see Grime as being ‘East London’ and Dubstep as being ‘South London.’ But hey.) And Alabama Shakes tick a lot of those boxes in a mighty fine way.
The thing that draws you in most to Alabama Shakes is the vocals of frontperson and guitarist Brittany Howard. Recent single ‘Hold On’ (currently picking up a fair bit of radio play, and rightly so) is like a manifesto for what they are as a band. In fact, Ms. Howard’s vocals are so strong, that you wonder if in a repetition of the blokes from Blondie whether there will a ‘Alabama Shak
es is a band’ t-shirt (anything for them to end up being tagged ‘Sleeper-blokes -go and ask your Mum). She’s cetainly got a bright future ahead of her. Her vocals genuinely comparable to the likes of Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone – and I don’t make that comparison lightly.
It’s a strong debut, with other very strong tracks in the form of the beuatiful ‘You Ain’t Alone’, ‘Rise to the sun’ and ‘Be Mine’. It’s a wonderful antidote to so much of the dross that’s out there. What I’d love to hear them do is a really, raw soul album, with someone like Steve Albini at the controls. I think they have it in them to make a jaw-dropping record -but this is a fine starting-point.
Watch closely.
***1/2
Boys & Girls is released by Rough Trade on April 9.