Alabama Shakes - The Boston Arms, London - 24th February 2012 (Live Review)
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Written by Hayley Taylor
Twitter has gone mad, every music journalist and radio presenter worth his salt is raving about them, and they’ve landed in the UK for a three night residency at The Boston Arms in Tufnell Park.
A band that provokes such a storm of hype before releasing a full album is, more often than not, a sign that they’re going to be shit. But instead of the expected anti-climax, Alabama Shakes blow all expectations out of the water and take their shot at becoming one of the world’s hottest new bands.
Deep Southern soul, fused with punk rock boldness; the band hurl themselves into an effortless set of fifteen tracks. Lead singer Brittany Howard’s voice is rasping and passionate with hints of Janis Joplin. Casually oozing soul on the slower tracks and rampantly radiating whiskey drenched rock n roll when the tempo picks up. Bookish with thick rimmed glasses and a flowery dress, Brittany doesn’t look like your typical front woman, but when she opens her mouth, the passion erupts and a primal howling escapes with lyrics coming straight from her heart. She has a set of lungs and a heavy heart belonging to someone older than her 22 years.
The continuing excitement that’s building around Alabama Shakes is being built on solid foundations; their tracks are filled with bluesy riffs and are powerful, fiery, vibrant, fun and ultimately, really good rock n roll.
The ‘next big thing’ doesn’t always live up to expectations, but this time it does. Alabama Shakes are on the cusp of being massive!
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