WORDS BY
Jacqui James

SOUND & COLOR
ALABAMA SHAKES

ARE YOU ALREADY missing summer? Sound & Color might be just what you need. It’s a good substitute to put you back into a fun-loving, carefree mood. The opening title track immediately takes us away to a dreamland full of light and sun. This album has everything from dance-around-the-room rock (‘The Greatest’, ‘Shoegaze’) to sexy and silky moods (‘Gemini’). The use of unusual instruments on ‘This Feeling’ provides the ear with rich and different sounds, confirming Alabama Shakes as confident artists across pop, indie rock and soul. Lyrically, Sound & Color is a feast of tales about love and loss (‘Miss You’), enjoying life (‘Over My Head’) and simply belting out a tune (‘Gimme All Your Love’). Brittany Howard’s falsetto gives the American quartet a versatile but beautiful sound; her voice can move like a butterfly yet remain fierce. Alabama Shakes have delivered a great second album that people should thoroughly enjoy.

{THREE AND A HALF STARS}

*Originally appeared in The Big Issue #482″

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