Bless my heart, Bless my SOUL - Alabama Shakes

Stream the album here

A couple months ago, I was sitting in the living room of my mom's house, talking about music with my sister and her husband. From the kitchen we could hear Alabama Shakes playing on my iPod. I was saying how much I liked them, and how they had that classic, old Muscle Shoals rhythm and blues sound, to which my brother-in-law replied, "I thought they were old." Nay, Denny, they are not. They are new and awesome and everyone should listen to them.

Alabama Shakes was recommended by a Twitter acquaintance, Chris Fullerton (@ElectricPencils) in early April. Their debut album, Boys & Girls, which was to be released on April 9, 2012, was streaming on NPR. He urged everyone to listen to them, so I did. And I loved it. If you close your eyes and listen to this record, you'll be transported back to summer, late 1960s, somewhere in the South, sitting on a porch swing, sipping sweet tea, with your little record player blasting that classic R&B sound. But no, open your eyes and you're back in 2012. I really love the sound of this band. I can't quite figure out who exactly they remind me of, what vocalist or what band, but still, I love it. Everyone with whom I have shared this record loves it as well. 

Alabama Shakes formed in 2009 in Athens, Alabama, with members Brittany Howard (vocals, guitar,) Heath Fogg (guitars,) Zac Cockrell (bass,) Steve Johnson (drums) and Ben Tanner (keys.) Howard's vocals are powerful (the girl has pipes) and have been compared to the likes of Janis Joplin. They have gotten a lot of great press, expect these guys to be huge. MTV named them on their "Artists to Watch in 2012" and have played at music festivals such as South By SouthWest, Sasquatch and Bonaroo, and are in the line-up for Lollapalooza. They have also appeared on Conan and Late Night with David Letterman, and will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon next week.

Boys & Girls is twelve tracks of pure awesome. The soulful Hold On opens the record. The drum line grabs you from the get go, then the guitars keep you in the song. Next is I Found You, this song too has that classic late 1960s soul feel, the backing vocals totally bring it out. The third song on the record is my favorite: Hang Loose. Hang Loose has a slightly more rock and roll feel; its just a super fun song. The record rolls on with superb radness in every song: Rise to the Sun, You Ain't Alone, Goin' to the Party, Heartbreaker (this song is KILLER. Full of so much soul, angst and awesome) Boys & Girls, Be Mine, I Ain't the Same, On Your Way and wraps with Heavy Chevy, a super up-beat, rockin' track, which reminds me more of early 1960s rock n roll, or even late 1950s. The guitar is insanely brilliant, almost Chuck Berry-esque, the piano reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis. I love it long time.

I don't think I can say enough about how awesome this band is, how awesome this record is. Sometimes I can't come up with the words I want. I listen to it all the time. It's perfect for these sunny, summer afternoons that we've all got coming up. It's a perfect soundtrack for that BBQ/road trip/life event you've got this/next/every weekend. Ok, now go buy this record. iTunes, Amazon, whatever. Now.