4 keepers
keeper avg .333
Alabama Shakes don't slump, slouch, or stumble on their sophomore album, a more varied collection than Boys & Girls. After the trippy, experimental title song comes the Grammy-winning hit "Don't Wanna Fight"****, full of funky riffs over a James Brown beat. It's noticeably darker than most of the previous album as well, as are the heavily accented "Future People"**** ("Come, people, You got to give a little, get a little") and the nearly Zeppelin-heavy "Gimme All Your Love"****, which ranges from murmur to a bellow. So far they're pretty far beyond the Janis Joplin feel of the previous album; those Muscle Shoals fills and riffs still add welcome color, and some more modern touches like buzzy keyboards and Jack White Big Muff guitar suggest of some rage.
"Dunes" (with an assertively terrible guitar solo), "This Feeling" (gospel via Exile On Main Street), and "Shoegaze" ("it ain't fun to be alone") have more of a ramshackle Stones groove than the Big Brother garage band, though "Miss You" could still fit in the latter category with much of the last album. There are also a couple modernized takes on soul; "Guess Who" is smooth and subtle like Marvin Gaye with hip hop beats, while the unhurried "Gemini"**** pushes hip-hop into space, with a fascinating combination of natural and electronic textures. The album does lag in the lackadaisical middle, but the only true fail is the unnecessary Velvet Underground impression "The Greatest"; like someone said "It's easy, just thump away on the drums and play fast, like the end of "Rock And Roll" for 4 minutes. The album ends as tenuously as it began, book ended with the trippy "Over My Head."
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