Once upon a time, there was this amazing Rolling Stones soundalike band called the Deadstring Brothers. I f*^%ing loved that band. They’ve fallen off a bit, but those first singles they put out, and their first two albums, were absolute fire.
Alabama Shakes remind me of them.
Not only do they have a wicked cool Southern band name, but they play the blues like…Well, like nobody else I can think of. And they’ve got a raw, powerful passion that recalls the greats of this genre: lead singer Brittany Howard delivers every line with the aching of rejection that recalls Janis Joplin; lead guitarist Heath Fogg blasts licks like John Popper; and the bass-and-drums of Zac Cockrell and Steve Johnson are tighter than the duo of the The White Stripes.
I know I can be prone to hyperbole, but this is the Greatest Blues EP Of The Year and one of the Best New Bands out there. Yeah, hype it. Take a listen to “Hold On,” below, and the live performance I added to prove my point and tell me I’m wrong. Go ahead. And I’ll ban your fucking IP address for having no taste.
Hold On
http://soundowl.com/embed/232n
Just four measly bucks at bandcamp. C’mon, dear readers, dig deep!
Here they are live:
