Brittany Howard

One Liner:  Alabama Shakes singer doing her own thing

Wikipedia Genre:  Americana, blues rock, garage rock, roots rock, soul
Home: Alabama

Poster Position: Late Addition.

Both Weekends.

Thoughts: If you've read this blog before, you know that I have loved the Alabama Shakes.  Went to see their show both weekends when they came to ACL last time, rated their album my number one disc of that year, it is one of the few albums I actually have downloaded to my phone for constant listening.  I'm a fan.  So, this is their lead singer, who sure seems like the heart and soul of the whole band.  She was also the same for another band she started, called Thunderbitch.  great band name.

Only five songs available on Spotify.  "I Wonder"gives off a sort of jammy vibe - like Robert Randolph and the Family Band or something.  "When My Man Comes Home" sounds like a Norah Jones joint.  "History Repeats" sounds more like a regular Shakes song, if they were trying to sing a Sly and the Family Stone song and had borrowed Sly's guitar effects pedals.  Actually, "Stay High" might sound more like a regular Alabama Shakes song.  That is her most streamed, at 1.7 million streams.

Those bells make it sound like Dan Auerbach produced the track, but it also sounds like regular stuff from the old Shakes album.  The other single, which was just released on Aug. 14, is "He Loves Me" and has that same sort of sound.

Huh.  Pretty sure that song is about God loving her despite her being a little shit.  Pretty freaking good song.  Love the guitar sound in there.  Those samples are from a sermon by Reverend Terry K. Anderson, a Houston-based pastor Howard discovered through YouTube.

She has a full album due this month - Sept. 20 - named Jaime, after a sister who passed away from cancer when she was a teen.  I read a Rolling Stone article about the new album, and it sounds like a very personal record.  Not only that song above, but also a song about her mixed race parents, and one about being "a little gay black girl and having a crush on an older black girl" while growing up in the deep South.  I'm excited for the whole album.  Her voice is killer and she can slay on the guitar, so bring it to me.