Miss You – Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes are/were one of the best groups to come out of the South, ever, regardless of their current lack of catalog. Southern rock n soul will forever have my heart. I remember the first time hearing Brittany Howard‘s voice; I believe it was a performance of their song “Hold On” from their first album, and I was just in shock at the power she has in her singing. Just an absolute force of nature. Their second and final album to date, Sound & Color is one of my all time favorites, and was super impactful in the development of my taste in music. It seemed to me that these guys were sort of being set up to be “the next big thing”, but Brittany & Co. have been on hiatus since 2018. I fully expect the shakes to make a comeback at some point, and I would say watch for an album or tour announcement in the next couple years. Maybe even sooner. Brittany has an great solo album called “Jaime” that I highly recommend, and if I’m not mistaken she recently released another solo album this year. Her solo work is a bit of a departure from the Alabama Shakes sound but it is still really great music. She also has a rock band called Thunderbitch and has released one album under that name that is a super fun listen.

“Miss You” is a hell of a song.

Brittany gives us a pretty straightforward take on the lyrics – “It’s like a love story set in this really messed up relationship that deals with addiction. It’s just a weird time and place to love someone when you’re in that world (of being a drug addict). It’s not a healthy thing, by any means.” I think that the added context can really change how you listen to this one, but of course one of the beautiful things about music is being able to take songs and their meanings however you see fit. The first couple of lines are pretty specific though, and I figured there was at least a bit of a true story here. “Well the Mickey Mouse tattoo is. I had to change the car because it was a very specific type and I tried not to give everything away_,” Howard said in an interview with Uncut.

Besides her voice, Howard is a pretty good guitar player as well. She’s known for playing SG’s, and her main one with Alabama Shakes was a seafoam green one that just seems to fit her personality perfectly. I love the guitar starting out with the arpeggio and how it builds into the chorus. I’ve recently discovered that one of my favorite things in music is a well executed build up. A constant snare drum hit getting louder and louder (there’s probably a technical term for this, but I don’t know it) and then exploding into a of burst of sound just really does it for me.

I love the Alabama Shakes sound, its a genre bending blend of alternative rock and neo soul music, and the southern influence on their work makes for such a cool and unique style of music.

Link to live – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w0aXD4wc9U

Link to song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4X-dkbJoJU