Boys & Girls

Overview

Pitched somewhere between the retro-purist vibe of Sharon Jones and the nervy revivalism of Jack White, Alabama Shakes possess a curious character: they're rooted in the past, but it's clear they've learned their moves from musicians removed some three or four generations from the source. Instead of playing like refractions from a hall of mirrors, Alabama Shakes' 2012 debut Boys & Girls emphasizes how American roots music is now grounded in the 1960s notion of blues & soul, all filtered through the prism of '70s classic rock. And it's not just that Heath Fogg tears great, gnarled riffs out of his guitar while the rhythm section of Zac Cockrell and Steve Johnson hit the downbeat with a brutal force -- lead singer Brittany Howard phrases like a rock singer, playing up vocal affections with glee, ratcheting up the drama by laying hard into her elongated phrases. Which isn't to say Alabama Shakes ignores the straight stuff: much of Boys & Girls is anchored in a Southern soul groove spliced from Stax and Muscle Shoals, the guitars of Fogg and Howard full and bold in their cleanly chopped rhythms, echoing the work of Steve Cropper and Jimmy Johnson. But Alabama Shakes aren't purists, they're modern -- they splice familiar sounds and forms together, then reshuffle them in subtly surprising ways. Unlike White or his Great Lakes cousins the Black Keys, Alabama Shakes aren't entirely enamored with what they can re-create in the studio -- they're too attached to the power of a live performance, making them an ideal candidate for a T-Bone Burnett or Joe Henry production somewhere down the road -- but they bear no special allegiance to the didactic needs of retro-rock. Their roots are just that -- roots, not anchors, allowing the group to grow, often in unexpected and quietly thrilling ways.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/10/2012
Label:	Ato Records
UPC:	0880882178727
Rank:	3504

Tracks

1. Hold On
2. I Found You
3. Hang Loose
4. Rise to the Sun
5. You Ain't Alone
6. Goin' to the Party
7. Heartbreaker
8. Boys & Girls
9. Be Mine
10. I Ain't the Same
11. On Your Way

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alabama Shakes   Primary Artist
Boys & Girls   Primary Artist
Micah Hulscher   Organ,Piano
Paul Horton   Organ,Piano,Farfisa Organ,Fender Rhodes
Mitch Jones   Organ,Piano
Steve Johnson   Drums,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Ben Tanner   Organ,Piano
Brittany Howard   Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion
Heath Fogg   Guitar,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Zac Cockrell   Bass,Guitar,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Geoffrey Hanson   Design
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Kevin Morris   Management
Ben Ayres   Publicity
Steve Johnson   Group Member
Christine Stauder   Management
Brett Kilroe   Design,Art Direction
Ambrosia Healy   Publicity
Autumn de Wilde   Photography
Ariana Morgenstern   Producer
Andrija Tokic   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Erin Cooney   Publicity
Tina Iba¿¿ez   Design
Alabama Shakes   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Brittany Howard   Composer,Group Member
Camille Augarde   Publicity
Jamie Woolgar   Publicity
Heath Fogg   Composer,Group Member
Zac Cockrell   Composer,Group Member
Steven Johnson   Composer
Ghian Wright   Engineer