release date: Sep. 20, 2019
format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]
producer: Brittany Howard
label: ATO Records - nationality:
Track highlights: 2. "He Loves Me" (live session) - 3. "Georgia" - 4. "Stay High" (live session) - 6. "Short and Sweet" - 7. "13th Century Metal" (live session) - 9. "Goat Head" - 10. "Presence"
Studio solo debut album by Alabama Shakes front-figure, Brittany Howard. Well, actually she made the full-length album work already in Sep. 2015 under the moniker of Thunderbitch, which was more of a musical project, where Jaime should be regarded as her actual solo debut. Howard is in complete control as she has written and composed all tracks and also produced it.
In Alabama Shakes the music is a tight mixture of warm and energetic r&b, blues rock, and soul, which also is a mixture you will find here, but on top of that this is much more complex in terms of styles. She blends all that with jazz rock, hip hop, contemporary r&b, and art pop to make her own conglomerate of styles and genres and succeeding without sounding forced or too varied.
Jaime has been met by critical acclaim and it peaked at number #13 on the US Billboard 200 and topping the US Americana / Folk albums chart list.
The musical arrangements and stylistic complexity immediately had me thinking of St. Vincent, but it's rather unfair to point at comparisons 'cause Howard only proves her artistic originality and worth, which pays tribute to the American heritage of great artists of jazz, soul, r&b as well as a great variety of modern performers of pop music.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
