Southern Comfort: Shaken, Surely Stirred

Thought I'd take a moment between monsoons and my ongoing hunt for the rodent stowaway in my kitchen to come up for air with a quick recommendation. This go-round it's the latest from the Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color. It's been three years since the Shakes burst onto the scene and became indie darlings with 2012's Boys & Girls, largely on the backs of its monster single "Hold On." The temptation on the follow-up must have been significant to stay within the lines established there, indie with clear Southern flourishes, inviting without offending, with nary a note or strand out of place. Lead singer Brittany Howard was the wildcard, the one element with the ability to ruffle some feathers with her primordial wail and charming lack of polish, but even she was largely well-behaved on the debut.

You can tell from the opening notes here, though, with the vibraphone entree of the title track how resoundingly they were going to fight that urge on their sophomore effort.  The band takes a series of big risks by doing so, burying the closest replicas of their debut in the last third of the album, but what they give us in return is an exceptional, chameleonic album that plumbs the wells of vintage soul, R&B, and blues, and mixes it with their brand of Southern-tinged rock.  The band paints with the title, creating an album that is an endless shift of moods and hues, at times funky and muscular as on "Don't Wanna Fight" and "Shoegaze," others sultry and sedate as on "This Feeling" and "Over my Head."

You can hear the myriad influences throughout -- Otis Redding and his Stax-era soul ("Miss You"), Janis Joplin and her unbridled blues ("Gimme All Your Love"), Isaac Hayes/D'angelo style R&B with its off tempo, sensual throb ("Gemini").  They're all here and channeled through the prism of Howard's exuberant, seemingly unfiltered thoughts and emotions. And it works -- songs of yearning, songs of love, songs of hurt feelings and flippant disregard.  Howard and the band damn the decorum and fire freely this time and it makes all the difference, between this and the debut, like the Enchantment Under the Sea band after Marty McFly shows up.  This album hits harder, registers deeper, and stays with you longer, and I can't wait to see it performed live.  Songs like "Future People" and "Dunes" (or "Gimme All Your Love" once it snaps into high gear at the end) are pure Southern revue, and were meant for the open air.  They and their brethren will be glorious to see next month at Lolla, spinning out over the masses and edging towards the lake.

"Dunes" is the one I'll be waiting for, as it highlights both the band's range and the broad palette it used on this offering.  It's got a little bit of everything in its four minute span -- quiet sentiment, plaintive wails, Southern funk and muscle -- that serve as nods to each of their disparate influences.  It's one of many gems on this album and worth a look.  Check it out here:

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We'll throw in a freebie for the road, a track off Two Gallant's latest, We are Undone. Keeping with the Southern vibe (by way of San Francisco) this bluesy twosome checks back in on their sixth full length, another solid mix of Black Keys style ditties that melds well with the rest of their catalog.  Lead singer/guitarist Adam Stephens' voice carries things along nicely as it, like the album, is equal parts melody and grit. Tracks like "Some Trouble," the title track, and "Katy Kruelly" all shine, but my personal fave is the rebellious mini anthem "Fools Like Us." Drummer Tyson Vogel's thrashing, Stephens' crunchy riffs, and the thumb in the eye lyrics all resonate with my inner pissant.  Maybe it will yours, too.  Test the waters here: