Rolling Stone - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Howard's dirt-black gravitas holds it all together....She's got as much Robert Plant as Janis Joplin in her..." Billboard - "Howard is a romantic but no pushover....The Shakes also show a deft touch with buoyant Muscle Shoals soul-rock..." Q - 4 stars out of 5 -- "This debut album proves they don't disappoint in the studio....Their music has a raw, aggressive style that is completely their own." Uncut - "There is much to admire about BOYS & GIRLS...not least its condience....Howards's singing is a glorious thing in and of itself, but is also reminds of something that has gotten lost: the properly big female voice..." Paste - "The Shakes looked to punk and hard rock as much as anything, and the melding of those influences with their rootsy, passionate appeal resulted in a style all their own, free of cynicism and brimming with vitality."

Rovi

Pitched somewhere between the retro-purist vibe of Sharon Jones and the nervy revivalism of Jack White, Alabama Shakes possesses a curious character: they're rooted in the past but it's clear they've learned their moves from musicians removed some three or four generations from the source. The group splices familiar sounds and forms together, then reshuffles them in subtly surprising ways. Unlike White or his Great Lakes cousins the Black Keys, Alabama Shakes aren't entirely enamored with what they can re-create in the studio, but they bear no special allegiance to the didactic needs of retro-rock. Their roots are just that -- roots, not anchors, allowing the group to grow, often in unexpected and quietly thrilling ways.|

Rovi