Alabama Shakes impresses with powerful sophomore effort

Brittany Howard, lead singer and guitarist of Alabama Shakes, describes her mentality during performances as “latching on to a feeling, riding it, trying not to come out of it. You stop thinking, you’re just performing — that’s the spirit world.” She puts an impossible amount of energy behind both her vocals and her dance moves. A born performer, Howard has an Alabama tattoo on her shoulder, which speaks volumes to the pride she has for both her music and her state.

The speed of Alabama Shakes’s ascension to stardom is remarkable. In the span of only a few years, the Alabama natives went from complete obscurity to playing the largest stage at Coachella, and for good reason. The soulful brand of down-home southern rock is both edgy and comforting, and the band’s newest album Sound & Color is a psychedelic twist on classic rock that is absolutely stunning.

In 2012, Alabama Shakes released their first album Boys & Girls, a hearty blend of a soul and rock reminiscent of an earlier era in American music, and it seemed they were on top of the world. Scoring three Grammy nominations for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance for “Hold On” and Best Recording Package, the young band came out swinging. “Hold On” was given heavy radio play for its simple hook and heartfelt bellows by Howard, and the band’s newest project certainly provides more incredible vocalizations.

Hearing many of the tracks on Sound & Color for the first time is powerful. Tracks such as “Gimme All Your Love” push Howard’s voice to its breaking point over calm guitar instrumentation that serves to highlight the songstress’ incredible ability. There are impressive builds that make your heart pound, such as in the funky “Don’t Wanna Fight,” which features a pronounced bass riff as its main musical spine and staccato guitar to punctuate each verse. Overall, Sound & Color is moving, using every instrument to its fullest range, whether it be quiet and mellow or bombastic and tense.

Opening the album is a lonely vibraphone, floating through notes like a ship on calm waters. “Sound & Color” is the track, and its wispy nature is a perfect opening to an album full of peaks and valleys and psychedelic guitar licks. When the slow, airy vocals end, “Don’t Wanna Fight” comes in heavy with a staccato guitar riff and a squeal, described by the Atlantic as “a deflating balloon” from Howard.

“What you like, what I like. Why can’t we both be right?” sings Howard, pleading for freedom from a relationship that seems based on disagreements. The soulful singer, who claimed in a BET interview her influences were David Bowie and Nina Simone, among others, has a commanding presence on each track, and her voice is truly unique. Though Alabama Shakes does not sound like Bowie or Simone, it is easy to draw some comparisons in the airy, sometimes dark vocals on Sound & Color to the collections of work these two artists have amassed. There are hard rock elements and spacey vibes, appealing to a wide audience of adults and kids alike.

Breaking from the model of traditional southern rock, Sound & Color is a venture into different styles of rock ‘n’ roll, and each track has a unique style choice perfect for its message. “Gemini,” a track nestled deep into the album about relationships (a common theme on Sound & Color) employs the Jack White style of wailing guitar that made him so famous, raising the emotional stakes of the song with a guitar that sounds like its crying. “The Greatest” uses a lo-fi filter and quick rhythm reminiscent of ’50s and ’60s rock similar to the early Beatles, and “Guess Who” sounds like a reggae anthem. Every track flows seamlessly into the next, united by Howard’s incredible voice.

By experimenting with style, Alabama Shakes has crafted a series of hits that are each unique and powerful, but that also work together in a beautiful masterpiece of Southern rock. Sound & Color is full of funk, rock, blues and above all else, soul. Howard’s impressive vocal range and stamina lend greatly to the prestige of Alabama Shakes, but the band’s ability to move through genres seamlessly and still sound unified and unique is one of a kind.

“See, I’ve been having me a real hard time / But it feels so nice to know I’m gonna be all right,” sings Howard on “This Feeling,” and Alabama Shakes’s upward trajectory surely must feel nice. Sound & Color is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. It is honest and soulful, both proud and humble; there is nothing holding back these Alabama natives musically. Listen to Sound & Color when you have a moment, and you absolutely will not be disappointed.

Matt Burke is a sophomore majoring in film production. His column, “Notes on Notes,” runs Wednesdays.