That's My Dad.

Top 50 Songs of 2012: #29, Alabama Shakes - Heartbreaker

Mama couldn’t tell me about the feeling. 

Earlier in the year when I reviewed “Boys & Girls”, singer Brittany Howard blew me away with the force of a torpedo with her stunningly raw and eerily striking vocals that channeled greats like Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone as if they possessed her soul. Her take on a break-up song is “Heartbreaker”: a visceral, goose-bump inducing three minutes of gargantuan misery. Howard creates her own chapter in soul and blues music, regardless of setting or era, with an unadulterated passion that sings as if ten thousand people watching yet explodes with sadness as if she’s the only one there. 

(Source: Spotify)

Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

As an audiophile, it shames me to think a band like Alabama Shakes will never receive the credit they truly deserve.

The current state of mainstream culture pays attention exclusively to artists who fetishize the past only to the extent where the masses can appreciate them. Primary example: Mumford & Sons are a band who get lauded for bringing back an Americana sound to a digital generation; when, in fact, their sound is merely a superficial interpretation. Artists influenced from nostalgia are adored due to current generation’s notion of what the yesteryear sounded like. Only a snapshot memory or a stereotype come to their minds. I bet in many youngsters’ narrow field of vision, blues music was just some African-American on a Les Paul crooning about a failed romance or the Mississippi River or some crazy shit like such.

This is what makes Alabama Shakes shine brighter. Like Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Alabama Shakes comes off more spiritually invested in their genre; unlike the run-of-the-mill indie groups who receive attention merely because they sound like the ’60s or something. With a spirit and vigor thats hard to find, Alabama Shakes’ blues-garage-rock-gone-soul debut LP, “Boys & Girls,” is unquestionably the most soulful, gutsiest album of 2012.

For “Boys & Girls”, boldness comes from its simplicity. Alabama Shakes doesn’t pack their punches with dynamic instruments, compositions or musicianship. All these components serve as a canvas for the Mona Lisa to be painted. Brittany Howard is that Mona Lisa. Two parts Ella Fitz and one part James Brown, lead singer Brittany Howard is the Mona Lisa that everyone pays their tickets for. “Boys & Girls,” in its entirety, serves as a showcase for Howard’s powerhouse ability as a singer. With every track, you’re helplessly captivated by Howard’s immediate emotional delivery. Whether its the minimalist gospel-esque gem, “Hold On,” or the vindictive ‘get down on your knees and beg the lord for mercy’ post break-up song “Heartbreaker,” Alabama Shakes feel so simple on paper, but they’re far from it.

Howard’s rollicking vocal performance speaks out against the modern image of the perfect voice. Brittany Howard is not Adele, nor could she be your next American Idol; she’s better. Howard carries her scars as trophies, vocally and emotionally speaking. Her voice is the equivalent to a vintage, decades-old guitar with a gorgeously aged tone; her vocal idiosyncrasies are embraced and used to carve out her own renditions. And because of this, anything Howard will ever put out like this will be more detailed and exciting than any other vocalist who aims for the industry standard. Both on and off the mic, Howard’s individualist spirit is a inspirational force that cannot be argued against; regardless of your thoughts about their sound.

Like the cultural service Aretha Franklin provided her generation, “Boys & Girls” is the type of album that fills your soul up with goodness. She will overwhelm you, ignite waves of goosebumps and rise eyebrows all around. One can’t say it more assuredly: Alabama Shakes is a true winner.

This album was my dad. (10/10)

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Gotye - Making Mirrors

A hundred forty million YouTube viewers can’t be wrong.

Australian musician Gotye has struck mainstream gold worldwide. With the viral hit single, “Somebody That I Used To Know” under his belt from album Making Mirrors, the sky’s the limit for this generation’s Peter Gabriel.

Starting with the ubiquitous tune on everyone’s thoughts: the emotionally riveting “Somebody That I Used To Know.” From Point A to B, “Used To Know” invests in deep story-telling; breaking the all-too-familiar break-up song formula. What makes this a winner comes from its exciting emotional intensity. This thing has the dramatic highs and low of an Ibsen play. The verses carefully sets up a fragile plot about a relationship from the guy’s perspective, developing an intimate and quasi-anthemic piece of poetry for those who can relate. The song then explodes when enters the chorus, one riddled with taunt conflict and bitterness of a break-up’s emotional aftermath. Every aspect of the song switches gears, particularly the vocal style where Gotye unleashes his inner Sting/Phil Collins that truly baffles the ear. Then, the real zest and wit of the track comes on the mic: the feature spot of singer Kimbra, who plays the part as on the other end of this relationship. For the first time, in the same song, you hear the scathing damage done from the other gender’s point of view. A bitter, pissed woman who has just as much, if not more, intensity to give right back at Gotye’s character; it’s a striking song-writing concept for the ages. 

From there, Making Mirrors is something of a entirely outlandish piece of music. Like a soccer mom with an empty cart and ten minutes to get anything she can grab for free in a supermarket, Gotye responds with the same frantic nature. Finding every genre and style to fit inside this album, Gotye finds himself creating an eclectic collection of ideas instead of an album with a single direction; which is both a good and bad thing. Making Mirrors may feel like a mix-tape, but it allows for Gotye, as an artist, to stretch as far as he damn well pleases. From art-pop tunes like “Easy Way Out” and “Smoke and Mirrors”, a style that undoubtedly sounds like Gotye’s real turf, to things more bizarre. Tracks like “Start of the Art”, a grimy hip-hop/reggae/auto-tuned work of social commentary, or the neo-soul piano ballad “I Feel Better” that sounds like something off a Cee Lo record.

Through all of the curve balls Making Mirrors can throw at you, there is never a moment where Gotye’s quality and musicianship can be questioned. A straight-through listen of the album will certainly leave anybody uncomfortable with the obscure spectrum of sound present.

This album was like my zany uncle who took a time machine ride from the ’80s. (8/10)

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An old personal favorite. Review prescribed by request. 

Mayer Hawthorne’s debut album is wholly essential. A Strange Arrangement sets out to re-live the classic essences of old-school R&B and Soul that lives within the heart of Detroit. His talent beams through many fields: his sharp and atmospherically conscious production skills and as a musician, Hawthorne blissfully impresses his audience with nearly every instrument he touches and lets that modestly show itself off on his compositions. A Strange Arrangement is a wholesome collection of pitch-perfect sonic snapshots of the flavorful R&B culture and the crisp idealization of love that comes with it. 

As an artist, Hawthorne has two strong qualities going for him that drives his work all the way home: inspiration and his lovely retro sense of class. His music is derived from this very simplistic and kind blend; it’s terrifically accessible and equally pleasant. I call this album essential for its straight-forward approach in recreating the core elements of R&B. The fuzzy and constant beats and heavily retro accented chord progressions will take you to a place any hipster with the right heart would delightfully fetishize over endlessly. 

My only issue with A Strange Arrangement is the approach to its songwriting. The lyricism ranges as being one-dimensionally simplistic to unnecessarily serious to surprisingly artistic. Hawthorne is a bit too young to take himself so seriously, a fact which conclusively brings uneven results. When he keeps things plain, it manages to compliment his signature style of compositions. However, the standout track here is Green Eyed Love, which shows a much deeper, mature and successfully dynamic and developed side of Hawthorne. Hopefully a promising foreshadow to new directions desired to be taken. Who knows.

If you crave a classy, retro-loving R&B jam, what in God’s name are you waiting for? Get yourself acquainted to this guy.

This album is certainly my dad.