Jaime＜限定盤/Colored Vinyl＞

Jaime is the name of Brittany Howards sister, a sibling who died from a rare cancer when she was 13 years old. Howard began reckoning with the enduring ramifications of her loss when she started writing a memoir, an exercise that eventually led to her 2019 solo debut Jaime. Running a tight 35 minutes but containing a lifetimes worth of drama and insight, Jaime is bracing in its adventure and generosity. Trace elements of Americana can be heard -- theres nary a trace of the rockabilly roar of her ferocious Thunderbitch side project -- but Jaime could never be mistaken for an Alabama Shakes album. Its too funky and too fluid in how it embraces noise, art, and soul: witness 13th Century Metal, a collaboration with jazz keyboardist Robert Glasper where an organ stutters like a broken synth, the rhythms are as tight as a loop, and Howard recites her spoken verse with abandon. Its a moment of coiled fury, but most of Jaime rolls to a languid, stoned soul beat, allowing Howard to play with her phrasing; she slides between the sexy, sad, and sweet, sometimes blending all three emotions simultaneously. The depth of feeling may be rooted in autobiography, but Jaime is a far cry from a stark confessional. Its slippery, elusive, and sober in its intent, even when its sound is decidedly woozy. Jaime plays the way memories do: specific facts get lost to a truth that gets larger as years pass, where the familiarity can be reassuring yet melancholy. Howards embrace of all the mess of life gives Jaime its sustenance. Her audacity is apparent upon the first listen, but subsequent spins are profound and nourishing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

『Sound & Color』(2015年)以降は動きの少ないアラバマ・シェイクスだが、ここにきてフロントを務めるブリタニーが初のソロ作を完成。彼女にピアノや詩作を教えて早逝した実姉の名を冠した表題の通り、かつてなくパーソナルな表現が試みられているよう。バンドの盟友ザック・コック(ベース)に、ネイト・スミス(ドラムス)とロバート・グラスパー(キーボード)を加えたソウルフルな濃密さは圧倒的だ。
bounce (C)狛犬

ブリタニー・ハワード初のソロ・アルバムは、自身をさらけ出すパーソナルな内容に。これは成功を掴んだ彼女ですら難しいアプローチだったようだが、その挑戦をサポートするべくバンド・メンバーには、アラバマ・シェイクスでの同僚ザック・コックレル、ジャズ・シーンからネイト・スミスとあのロバート・グラスパーという強力布陣が招集されている。彼女らしいレトロスペクティヴな香りはあるも、過去作で展開してきたロック色は薄く、オープニングを飾るプリンスが憑依したごときファンク・チューン《History Repeats》を筆頭にソウルやヒップホップ、ジャズの滋養に現代性も掛け合わせ、新たな一面を見せる。
intoxicate (C)青木正之