Album Review

Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls

• 9th Apr 2012

Highly rated young southern rock band Alabama Shakes have a rapidly growing celebrity fan club that includes everyone from Adele and Jack White to Russell Crowe. And in this debut release, full of soul and blues influenced rock music they demonstrate exactly why they are so hotly tipped for stardom.

The band formed in high school in the town of Athens, Alabama, and is fronted by guitarist and lead singer Brittany Howard, whose voice has already drawn comparisons with the likes of Tina Turner and Janis Joplin. Along with guitarist Heath Fogg, Zac Cockrell on bass and drummer Steve Johnson, the young band made its name as a live act playing covers before writing, and now recording, their own material.

The album begins with Hold On, an instantly enjoyable track. From the great opening line, “Bless my heart, bless my soul, didn’t think I’d make it to twenty two years old”, it is clear that Brittany Howard possesses a powerful and expressive voice. Her bluesy delivery comes with a maturity and a depth that belies her youth. The song also features some nice guitar licks and a solid backbeat that holds it all together perfectly, although the burst of static near to the end gets in the way a little.

I Found You is a big rocker with a gospel tinged chorus and a lovely bass line. This and Hang Loose, where the reverb on the vocals gives a great effect, will both sound tremendous when played live. Rise To The Sun feels a little pedestrian in comparison to much of the album, a slower soul influenced track that is lifted a little by frenetic bursts of guitar.

You Ain’t Alone is the centrepiece of the album, a raw blues tinged Southern nock tearjerker. A piano backs the mainly gritty vocals, while Howard also shows an amazing clarity in the higher registers. And when she lets go at the end of the track, the primal scream, the wail that erupts from her throat threatens to overwhelm. I was initially sceptical about the Janis comparison, but right here it all becomes clear.

Goin’ To The Party slows things down again. It’s soulful and laid back in a deliciously Southern way; the vocals dropping into a spoken voice in places. But Heartbreaker soon raises the temperature, an insistent and passionate blues song with a sixties feel and a big performance from Brittney Howard that portrays the pain of the lyrics absolutely perfectly.

Boys & Girls, the soulful title track was written about a childhood friend and is slow and deep, examining the nature of friendship. Be Mine combines some fine guitar work with a piano and a swirling organ, but feels a little messy in places. I Ain’t The Same is passionate and defiant, again the guitar is prominent although the vocals dominate.

The closing track On Your Way starts softly with a gospel feel to the vocals before exploding into a free flowing jam with screaming guitars and crashing drums that stop abruptly as the album ends in breathless fashion. A fine closer.

As a debut album Boys and Girls has some rough edges, as perhaps is to be expected from a young band. There are a few hums and errant sounds here and there. But these 36 minutes of passionate music also promises great things to come. There is a quite formidable talent here that is certain to develop further.

And everything I have read and heard about Alabama Shakes suggests that as good as they clearly are on record, this band is even better playing live. Now that must be something to see.