Growing up, I would come downstairs after sleeping in on a Sunday to my mom making crêpes in the kitchen. Picture spring in Portland: rain, dread (because it’s still raining and it’s June, literally where is the sun), a fuzzy bathrobe, and the smell of batter. What’s missing? Nutella? No, that’s there. Berries? There also. Music? Mhmm, throw in some Alabama Shakes and bam! Those were the cozy Sunday mornings that would get my siblings and I through the year. Alabama Shakes always brings me to this homey state of mind. So when my mom told me the band’s lead singer and guitarist, Brittany Howard, was coming out with a solo album, I knew I would have to give it a listen.
With her soft, low and slightly raspy voice, Howard couldn’t make a bad song even if she tried. The album, Jaime (2019), is named after her older sister, who died at a young age from eye cancer. It was Jaime who taught Brittany how to write songs. This album, however, does not focus on her sister, but rather is a collection of personal sentiments coming from Howard’s character.
Starting with “History Repeats,” Howard highlights her relationship with funk and soul. The upbeat song brings together strong drum rhythms and a playful guitar. Her repetitive lines of “history repeats and we defeat ourselves / come on everybody, one more time again” drives home the main point of my high school history class. Howard keeps the lyrics personal and relatable. In “He Loves Me,” she sings: “he loves me when I’m smoking blunts / loves me when I’m drinking too much” and “loves me when I do what I want / loves me, yeah he doesn’t judge me.” This sounds like an ideal relationship if you ask me, and it seems like Cal is lacking in men who let you be yourself and love you for that. In “13th Century Metal,” her lyrics resemble a political speech of solidarity, love, and unity that are almost crowded out by the pressing jangle of a Beck-esque jam session behind her. Her song “Short and Sweet” takes a slower pace, but allows her to show off the range of her voice, soulful and almost motherly, a lullaby that could be sung by Billie Holiday. “Goat Head” is arguably one of the most direct songs on the album, as Howard explicitly shares her experiences of growing up biracial over a background of piano and trap drums. Likely to be the top hit off the album is “Stay High,” previously leaked as a single, with its light beat complimented by her lifting voice.
The album attests well to her talent. Howard showcases her ability to combine voice with instruments, intuitively knowing where and when to mix and balance them. This promising solo debut has multiple hits that I’ll play on my own lazy Sundays, while working down the street at the café, and will definitely hear when I visit home for some of my mom’s crêpes.
Article by Claire Winthrop