Shakes pack a powerful jolt
Brittany Howard sings a musical phrase like a track and field star throws a shot put. She’ll lean far back in a note, pausing to amass lung power and heft. Then, in a burst, she’ll hurl the phrase to the sky, hitting her target with the aim of an Olympian.
It’s an ideal skill for a singer of Howard’s aspirations. On her much-buzzed-about debut with Alabama Shakes, she goes for the most physically demanding expression of blues-rock-soul imaginable. Poor girl. Inevitably, this dooms her to a thousand comparisons to Janis Joplin, the default reference point for any singer of the last 40 years blessed with a harsh timbre and a willingness to throw herself into a song with ruinous abandon.
It should only intensify the comparisons that Howard’s band plays a bone-raw brand of garage rock-soul that recalls Janis’ first rough-’n’-ready band, Big Brother and the Holding Company.
Luckily, Howard’s voice has its own DNA, with an individual tone and texture. It’s thick and gristly, with lots of meat on it. It’s also resolutely Southern, as is the band’s music.
The songs and grit on “Boys & Girls” tap the classic sound of Stax Records. Given the Shakes’ lean, live sound, their music shows what put the muscle into the Muscle Shoals studio sound.
Still, “Boys & Girls” doesn’t sound like another Black Crowes/retro rock-soul wannabe. It has its own melodies and its own indie-rock take on roots music.
And Howard has her own look. Bespectacled and stout, she’s not everyone’s idea of a cover girl — though in the age of Adele, Howard’s look has earned its own buzz, inspired by her proud individualism.
Howard formed the Shakes in 2009 with bassist Zac Cockrell, guitarist Heath Fogg and drummer Steve Johnson. They recorded an EP in 2011, which helped get them signed to Dave Matthews’ well-curated ATO label.
Though young, the band sounds amazingly experienced on “Boys & Girls.” At 23, Howard channels the depth of Bessie Smith in her blues cadences and Etta James in her sheer force. She likes to grind her voice, luxuriating in strain before finding a fine release.
The strongest Joplin connection comes in “Heartbreaker,” one of those go-for-broke blues takedowns that could do for Alabama Shakes what “Ball and Chain” did for Big Brother.
Even when Howard songs sings of assurance — which she does often — they’re informed by suffering. In “Hold On,” she addresses herself by name. “Didn’t think I’d make it to 22 years old,” she sings with a cry. “There must be someone up above/ sayin’ come on Brittany/you’ve got to hold on.”
Typically, she leaves a significant pause between “got to” and “hold on,” creating a windup whose payoff packs such a wallop, anyone who hears it may well think “a star is born.”
Alabama Shakes plays Bowery Ballroom Wednesday and the Music Hall of Williamsburg Thursday.