It was only one pass, but it was a very focused pass. "What Now," the new release from Brittany Howard kept me enthralled and intrigued from head to tail. Having never warmed up to Alabama Shakes, I had little interest in Howard's solo debut, "Jamie." But it worked for me, and so, I had more than a little interest in what was to follow. Again, I only listened once, but I am ready for another ride.
By track four I thought, "This is what a Prince/Radiohead collaboration would sound like and by the end, I was convinced. Maybe you'll hear it, too.
6 comments:
Well, damn! Brittany Howard is clearly in it for the long run, and in it to make every record better than the last ... this is tight, tight stuff!
And impressively, it feels like the same artist making it as before, but with definite artistic growth - and a great producer to help bring all that out and make it sonically marvelous.
I hear the Prince, and don't really know Radiohead so I can't comment on that, but I do hear lots of Georgia Anne Muldrow in there too, a recent-ish neosoul artist who unfortunately has gotten lost in the shuffle - most people aren't that aware of her, but she's amazing.
I also hear a LOT of Meshell Ndegeocello, an artist who isn't heralded enough, but did win a Grammy a few nights ago so I guess someone is noticing.
I also hear some of Kamasi Washington's ebbing, surging arrangements in Earth Sign.
After the first 3 cuts, I felt like you did but then it seemed that form took over substance for most of the rest of the album, with a few exceptions. It was all interesting but didn't seem to reach the level of the first 3 cuts, especially "I Don't", which is gorgeous. This was just the initial pass so I may warm to the rest. She is very interesting to listen to. There is something very unique there, which deserves attention.
Completely unexpected from her - agree with your reference coupling.
I'm in. Thanks! I always thought The Shakes were a stepping stone for her.
I think you've got it all backwards. Something tells me that there was a talent lurking in the Alabama Shakes records that helped them break through, while everything thereafter from Brittany Howard seems like it's getting by on bluster. "What Now" is about what, now? And check out the "melody" of "Red Flag" and the other one. Worse than the triumph of style over substance, this is the elevation of aimless skittering and riffing to no end whatsoever. I call malarkey.
The hype surrounding the Shakes was unwarranted. They were fine. Nothing special, yet they exploded. And while I won't argue that both of Brittany's records do indeed offer a bit more style than substance, occasionally that works for me when I listen to a record as a whole.
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