Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls
Artist: Alabama Shakes
Album: Boys & Girls
Label: Rough Trade
OUT NOW
Rating: 4/5
Alabama Shakes release their debut album Boys & Girls this week and it is a great introduction to this exciting band.
They recorded the album in Nashville and you can really feel that Nashville rocky/blues feel especially to the opening track Hold On.
Brittany Howard has a rather unique and soulful, not to mention beautiful voice, and she almost howls her way through the opening and very emotional track.
Bless my heart/Bless my mind/I’ve got so much to do/Ain’t got much time/There must be someone up above saying ‘come on girl you have got to get back up’.
Howard’s gritty and soulful vocals supported by the electric guitars and piano all blend so well together and Hold On really is a highlight of this album.
While Hold On my have more of a rocky/blues feel to it than I Found You goes in a different direction as has a real gospel sound running through it, through in some rock guitars and you really do have a very uplifting track.
There is a change of pace again at the beginning of Hang Loose as the guitars give a real country feel to the track, it is perhaps one of the catchiest tracks on the album and there really is a toe-tapping element to the song.
One again Howard’s vocals are on top form. What is so great about Howard as a singer is she sounds completely different on almost every track showing that she is able to adapt her voice to each genre never giving the same performance.
And Howard’s vocals really do come into their own on Heartbreaker as you can just feel the emotion pour out of her with every word. Heartbreaker is a track then really slows down the pace and it is one of the best on the album.
Alabama Shakes are a band that is not afraid to experiment with their sound through this record and they touch on a whole host of genres from rock to blues to gospel and back again - showing that they really are a versatile five piece.
There isn’t a single weak track on this debut record and it’s not hard to see why they have come so popular on the live circuit.
Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw