Brittany Howard – What Now

Rich, vibrant, soul/rock.

Review Score:

A-

February 18 / 2024

Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes fame) hits hard on What Now, a sonically rich journey through her many musical talents.

It’s no secret that Howard has the vocal chops for just about any genre. She could easily coast on those alone. Instead of taking the easy route, Brittany Howard pairs her powerful voice with layers of lush instrumentation. Many of the tracks on What Now fit loosely into the soul category. But now all of them are so easily classified. Frequent musical breakdowns and interludes keep the listener guessing. The first four tracks are an excellent run of hits. The mighty opener “Earth Signs” sets a high bar for what’s to come. “I Don’t”, “What Now” and “Red Flags” demonstrate a strong chemistry with the rest of the band, which includes Zac Cockrell, the bassist of Alabama Shakes. These strong rhythmic tracks are broken up by mellower, more contemplative songs like “To Be Still”.

Howard co-produced this album with veteran of the industry Shawn Everett. Everett has produced a long list of great albums for known artists. He worked on some of the Killers’ new material, like Pressure Machine, their best album since Sam’s Town. He worked on Big Thief’s excellent double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You and Vampire Weekend’s Father Of the Bride. But he also did Weezer’s Ratitude. That was a long time ago though so it’s safe to say he’s learned his lesson since then.

Regardless, it’s clear that Everett was able to help Howard get the most out of some of these big, grand anthems on What Now. The pair’s efforts worked to great effect. Often overlooked is the sequencing of tracks on an album. The ordering of the dozen songs on What Now is notably perfect. Each track elevates the one before and after. When Howard builds to a groovy climax on “Prove It To You”, she transitions into a cool, quiet free jazz moment on “Samson”.

What Now is a dynamic, soulful, album of psych rock(ish) bangers. Definitely one of the highlights of the year so far.

Review Score:

A-

Gubb wrote this review. You can’t get mad at Gubb.