A lot of people I know are listening to this band at the minute and loving them. Alabama Shakes are a four-piece from Athens, Alabama, producing vintage bluesy american rock or ‘real’ music as I’ve heard it referred to. 23-year old Brittany Howard is the undisputed star of the show with a grunty, ballsy, magnetic voice that almost seems to have a life of its own. When I listen to her I can hear shades of Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Macy Gray and Amy Winehouse.
Alabama Shakes have had a busy year – they released their debut album ‘Boys and Girls’ in April to overall critical acclaim, they’ve appeared on most of the ‘late’ shows in the US, supported big names such as Jack White and Fiona Apple in concert and managed to amass millions of hits on youtube. Not bad for a young band formed in 2009.
‘Boys and Girls’ is an aural assault – 11 gutsy tracks in a short 38 minutes. Have a listen to ‘Hold On’ and ‘Hang Loose’ and you can see what all the fuss is about:
Musicblock 